


How to be Brave

by WritingIsMyAddiction



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-14
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-04-09 07:11:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 87,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4338854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingIsMyAddiction/pseuds/WritingIsMyAddiction
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sitting in the hospital, on what should be the joyous day of bringing their baby into the world, events unfolds that force Beca to replay the events that got her to this point. And hope that when the past arrives at the present both she and Chloe have a future with their baby.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I originally had this posted on FF.net. But I decided to slowly start posting my story on this site as well. I did write this originally in 2012.

Title: How to be Brave

Rating: R

Pairing: Beca/Chloe

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer, characters unfortunately do not belong to me.

Summary: Sitting in the hospital, on what should be the joyous day of bringing their baby into the world, events unfolds that force Beca to reply the events that got her to this point. And hope that when the past arrives at the present both she and Chloe have a future with their baby.

**A/N: I couldn't decide which story I wanted to tell more, so I decided to merge both stories into one. There are kind of two stories going on in this fic, the present which takes place five years after the events of the movie. And the past, which explains how both Chloe and Beca got where they are at the beginning of this fic. I really hope this isn't too confusing. I tried to make it straight forward. Also, I got inspiration for the Title, from the song A Thousand Years pt. Two. I'll probably use that song later as well. Please enjoy.**

Chapter One – Present Day

" Did you call her?" The slightly shrill note that took over her best friends usual bubbly tone made Aubrey increase the pressure she was currently putting on the gas pedal increase by double. The red head occupying her passenger seat clutched her swollen stomach and grimaced in pain.

" She's going to meet us there." Aubrey knew that Chloe wanted nothing more than to have Beca with her. And for the first time Aubrey didn't take that fact personally.

" This isn't right. It's too early Aubrey." Chloe said panicking. The two had been working on the nursery, unpacking the many things that Chloe had gotten at the baby shower that they had held just a few days earlier when Chloe's water had broken.

" It's going to be okay Chloe. I promise." Aubrey said weaving in and out of traffic trying to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. Chloe wasn't due for another month, but her pregnancy hadn't exactly been smooth so the doctors warned that she could go into premature labor.

Aubrey walked with Chloe through the elevator doors of the maternity floor and barked for someone to get them a wheelchair. The nurse behind the registration desk looked up at the two women, a look of understanding at the panic that Aubrey had. She helped Chloe into one of the wheelchairs that they had on hand and shot a look at Aubrey, managing to convey in a single glance that her panic wasn't helping the situation at all. When the nurse went around the desk again and picked up the phone she had a short conversation with someone on the other end when the automatic doors leading into the actual ward opened and Chloe saw a familiar face.

" Hey there Chloe." Chloe looked up at the nurse, who she knew to be named Sarah, and tried to smile.

" Hi Sarah." Chloe greeted.

" Let's get you checked in. Where's Beca?" Sarah asked looking around the waiting room and not finding the brunette. Chloe glared at the nurse, perhaps it was the pain, or just the general anxiety of the moment but Chloe knew that Sarah had a crush on Beca. It had been obvious enough when the two had come to the hospital for their tour. They had even joked about it when they got home. Chloe didn't find it every amusing now.

" On her way if she knows what's good for her." Aubrey grumbled. Sarah glanced at Aubrey wondering who the blonde was but not worrying about it enough to introduce herself.

" Why don't you call Chloe's parents and when Beca comes in will you send her through these doors please." Sarah instructed before wheeling Chloe through the doors. The truth was Chloe would rather Aubrey have come with her, Aubrey had always been there to take care of Chloe ever since they were in kindergarten. The idea of not having Aubrey there made the whole thing worse.

" Can she come with?" Chloe asked.

" Sure." Sarah said watching Aubrey come over and take Chloe's hand.

Beca arrived just as they were getting Chloe settled into her room and changed into a hospital gowned. When she appeared in the doorway she was out of breath as if she had sprinted all the way from the studio. Brushing passed Sarah and Aubrey, Beca stood next to Chloe and took her wife's hand squeezing it gently.

" It's too soon Beca. Too soon." It was all Chloe could think about. She was only eight months pregnant, this wasn't supposed to be happening.

" It's going to be okay love." Beca said reassuringly, not really knowing how she was able to make her voice as steady as it was.

" The doctor is on his way, he's going to check Chloe out and make sure everything's okay." Sarah offered.

" See, you're in the best hands possible." Beca said comfortingly shooting a glance at Aubrey. The blonde began making the calls to everyone that needed to be there, mainly Chloe's parents and Beca's dad. She would call the Bella's when things were more settled.

" I'm scared Bec." Chloe whispered leaning into Beca. Beca felt completely helpless, she didn't do well in situations like this. She was always the first to panic, and Chloe was the voice of reason. But now Chloe needed her to be strong and Beca didn't know how. Aubrey went to the other side of Chloe's bed and took her friends hand.

" Don't be, you and my little God…baby are going to be fine." Aubrey had been a little peeved when Chloe refused to tell her what the sex of the baby was. Even though it was already predetermined that Aubrey would be the Godmother to their baby no matter what its gender. Aubrey assumed that meant that she would get the inside scoop on the gender at least.

When the doctor arrived Aubrey was asked to wait outside, which she did reluctantly while Chloe was examined.

" I'm Doctor Bradley, I'm the doctor on call tonight." She seemed nice, she greeted them both with a pleasant smile and a firm hand shake.

" I'm only eight months." Chloe said.

" We're going to monitor you and the baby closely. When I examined you, you were only barely a centimeter dilated which means that you are in the latent phase of labor. I know this is probably the most unhelpful thing to hear, but we're just going to have to be patient and wait and see." Dr. Bradley said. " I want you to try and relax, rest as much as you can. You're in for a long road Chloe. I'll be back to check on you soon."

Once alone Chloe looked up at Beca, her blue eyes wide with worry hoping to find some reassurance in Beca's face. It was then that Beca realized she couldn't be scared, she needed to be strong for Chloe.

" This is really happening." Chloe mumbled as if the realization finally hit her.

" We're going to meet our baby soon." It had taken Beca a long time to wrap her head around being a mom. It was never something she had grown up wanting, or thought that she would ever want. But it was something that Chloe had wanted for the longest time, and over time, and a lot of talking about it Chloe had convinced Beca. Now Beca wasn't ashamed to say she was looking forward to being a mom. " You should rest Chloe."

" I can't. It's too uncomfortable to sleep, and I'm too nervous. What if something's wrong with him?"

" Him?" Beca whispered. They had talked about learning the sex of their baby. Chloe had wanted to know whereas Beca had wanted it to be a secret. Chloe had done a good job up until that moment of not telling Beca.

" Oops."

" A boy huh?" Beca asked. She was going to have a son. " Figures. Boys are so impatient." Beca was rewarded with a small laugh and a promise that Chloe would try and get some rest. Beca sat down on the uncomfortable cot that they had set up next to Chloe's bed against the wall. It reminded Beca of her freshman dorm room back at Barden. Leaning against the wall and pulling her knees up to her chest Beca watched Chloe laying with her eyes closed, every once in a while grimacing, she found herself reflecting on how she had gotten to this point in her life.

**Eight years earlier**

They hadn't talked in exactly one week. And it had been Hell for Beca. But it had also been one week since Chloe had told Beca that at the end of summer she would be moving to New York. The rational part of Beca's mind knew that she had no right to be mad at Chloe. But the emotional side, the side Chloe had brought out of her, demanded that she be upset. Chloe couldn't move over a thousand miles away. The idea of it made it difficult for Beca to breathe. Chloe had become her person, the one person who was beginning to restore her faith in people.

So Beca, being emotionally stunted reacted the only way she knew how. Distance, Chloe was leaving in five months she might as well be gone now. So Beca planned on removing Chloe from her life now, because at least then it would be on her terms. Stupid, Beca was well aware of that. But it was the only way Beca knew of to keep herself from complete destruction when Chloe was gone.

It wasn't that Chloe hadn't tried communicating, Beca's phone rang off the hook with all the calls, texts, and emails that Chloe sent. But Beca had ignored them. Some she hadn't even opened or voice mails she hadn't even listened to. She never left her room except in the wee hours of the morning when she knew that there was little chance that she was going to run into anyone that she knew. Even Kimmy Jin had given up on getting Beca to leave. She had just found another place to stay while Beca moped.

Beca's days consisted of making mixes, her emotional turmoil seemed to bring no shortage of inspiration for her music. She only left when she knew there was no chance of running into anyone, the grave yard guy at 7-11 knew her really well by now. He didn't even raise an eyebrow when she brought what seemed to be an endless supply of mountain Dew and Red Bull to the counter.

Draining her latest can of the carbonated, caffeinated beverage Beca used the excuse to stretch her limbs. Her arms cracked as she did so. She was about to return to her music when a loud knock echoed through the small dorm. Pulling her head phones off her ears Beca cocked her head trying to get a better determination of if it was their dorm officer delivering something, some notice or whatever. Or if it was someone actually visiting. Her question was answered by a second louder knock.

" Beca open up!" Chloe's voice rang out into the dorm room and cut through Beca as if there were no door between them. Feeling panic seep through her Beca sat paralyzed in her office chair. The door was locked, only she and Kimmy Jin had keys.

Except.

There was the telltale sound of keys sliding into the lock and the click of the lock releasing. Beca turned away from the door as it swung open. But in the reflection of her computer Beca saw Chloe. For several minutes Chloe didn't say anything. Probably because she was waiting for Beca to say something, until finally the silence that consumed the room felt like it was suffocating them.

" I think I've put up with this temper tantrum long enough." Chloe stated walking into the room and closing the door behind her. Had this been any other situation Beca might have thought this was comical. Seeing Chloe standing looking rather upset, it was such a rarity for the red head to get upset about anything. The only time Beca had seen the red head upset, truly upset about something, had been with Aubrey before they had all sorted out their issues before the ICCA's.

" Then what are you doing here?" Beca asked pretending to be busy working on her mixes.

" Beca, you can't keep avoiding me. I know that you're mad…"

" Watch me." Beca interrupted, she didn't want to talk about how mad she was that the one person that she had opened up to was leaving, she didn't want to talk about how much the idea of Chloe not being in her life made her insides ache in such a way that nothing could numb it even a little.

" Why?" Chloe asked.

" You're leaving. Why do you even care?" Beca fired back slamming her mac book closed and standing up. When she turned around she kept her gaze cold.

" You're mad that I'm leaving. I get it. But seriously Beca, that doesn't mean that we stop being friends."

" Maybe not in your idealistic view of the world. But news flash Chloe, in the real world that's exactly what it means." Beca's words were harsh. Chloe's always optimistic view of the world had always been one of things Beca found most endearing about Chloe. To attack it felt wrong even as she was speaking the words, but Beca had to. She had to push Chloe away so that Chloe would realize that it was better if they sever ties now.

" So that's it then? You're just going to push me away?" Chloe challenged mostly because she didn't think that Beca could do it. In the past few months the two had gotten remarkably close. Aubrey was still Chloe's best friend, had been since they were in Kindergarten. But Beca was easy to talk to, even if all Beca ever did was listen to Chloe as she talked.

Most people had their preconceived notions of who Beca was. And Beca was more than happy to allow them their assumptions. So long as it kept them away from her that was all that mattered. But with Chloe that was different. Beca was different. She smiled more, talked more, allowed Chloe to hug her and invade her personal space. She was just different.

" Pretty much." The words knocked the wind out of Chloe. It was as if Beca had physically struck her. Even early on in their friendship Beca had been stand offish and defensive. But she had never been outright mean.

" Why are you doing this?" Chloe asked her voice breaking. Beca cringed, she hated that she was actually causing Chloe pain. As much as she wanted the distance, hearing the pain in Chloe's voice was more than Beca could handle.

" I have to." Beca whispered looking away from Chloe, averting her gaze as if that made it somewhat easier to handle. She was pushing away the one girl who had never done anything but make Beca feel like she was someone that mattered, someone important. Beca had always viewed it that Chloe had taken pity on her, it had been the best day of her life really when Chloe had leaned forward, dangerously close and whispered that they would be fast friends. Most people would chalk it up to drunkenness, and Chloe was plenty tipsy. But Beca realized then that Chloe meant it, they would be friends, whether Beca wanted it or not.

" Why?" Chloe pressed. She was always pushing Beca to open up more. Probably because she was the only one that could get away with it.

" It'll be easier when you leave, if whatever we have is done." Beca said an air of finality to her statement.

" Is that really what you want?" Chloe asked inching forward. Her gaze intensifying and Beca knew she was pinned. Chloe took in Beca's appearance, the brunette looked like she hadn't slept in days. And she felt an enormous swell of sadness wash over her knowing she was at least partly responsible for it. Beca had abandonment issues, Chloe knew this because they'd talked about it. Chloe also remembered promising Beca that she wasn't going to abandon Beca. All of this had been spoken in jest but Chloe realized standing there that Beca felt as if she was being abandoned.

" I knew better than this. I knew opening up was a bad idea. But you were so…convincing. Please, just go." Beca said suddenly. There were words that were dancing on the tip of her tongue but she refused to say them.

" I'm not leaving until we talk about this Beca." Chloe said firmly.

" Look its whatever, you're moving away. I get it." Beca said with a shrug. Her other defense, when sarcasm and her biting tongue into work then usually apathy worked.

" Don't do that Beca. Don't make what we have sound so forgettable." Chloe knew whatever she and Beca had was worth more than that. It was a weirdly deep friendship that only seemed to make sense to them.

" And what do we have Chloe? Huh?" Beca demanded.

" We have what we have." Chloe replied cautiously. It had never been something they had broached before, it was a lingering question that had always been the topic they didn't discuss.

" Descriptive."

" What do you want us to have?" Beca stared back at Chloe for several long, suffocating moments. Looking like she was about to say something. But didn't.

" It doesn't matter now. Because you're leaving."

" Do you think this is easy for me? Leaving everything that I've known for the past four years for a city I don't know. Surrounded by people who don't know me? Don't understand why I'm so bubbly all the time?" Chloe demanded finally letting her anger boil over. It was the first time that Chloe had let her anger actually manifest. And it was really the only Beca that could bring this out of Chloe. With anyone else Chloe would always managed to keep her calm. Beca had a way of getting under her skin in ways that was nerve racking and at the same time something she wouldn't trade for anything.

" No one understands why you're so bubbly all the time." Beca grumbled.

" But you accept it. God Beca, I'm terrified. And you shutting me out is not any easier on me." Chloe said exasperated.

" I have to."

" Why?"

" Because you've destroyed me." Beca said finally. Her eyes flashing at Chloe and Chloe saw tears shining in Beca's blue-grey eyes. " You've completely, and irrevocably ruined me. I was fine before. I thought I could go along just fine without letting anyone in. And then you had to just appear and turn my plan on its fucking head. And you made me feel things. And now you're leaving."

" What did you feel Beca?" Chloe asked curiously. Desperately even. She wanted so bad to know what Beca was truly feeling. Sometimes she got the feeling that Beca wanted more from their friendship, that there might be a mutual flirtation instead of it just being on Chloe's half. Chloe had always wondered if she and Beca could be more than just friends. But it was impossible to read Beca.

" I can't." Beca said turning away, feeling her heart pounding in her chest. Beca had spent months convincing herself that it was a stupid crush, that there was no way in a million years that someone as wonderful as Chloe could have feelings for her. " Please Chloe, let me let go of you before this tears me apart." Beca pleaded hoping that Chloe would take pity on her. But it just wasn't Chloe's style to just let Beca get away.

" Beca…"

" I can't do this without you Chloe. You make this whole college thing bearable." Beca confessed, though it sounded downright painful just for her to admit it. This was the most honest confessions Chloe had ever gotten out of Beca.

" You have the other Bella's." Chloe offered.

" They aren't you." Beca mumbled sounding more like an indignant child than the self-proclaimed bad ass she was. Crossing the distance between them Chloe gathered Beca in her arms in a tight hug. Beca would have struggled if she thought it'd work, and if she didn't enjoy it so damned much. Chloe had managed to get Beca to actually enjoy her hugs. No one else's, just Chloe's.

" I'm not going to disappear out of your life Beca I promise." Chloe whispered against Beca's hair.

" Don't." Beca whimpered pushing Chloe away half-heartedly but still pushing Chloe enough that the red head stepped back.

" Don't what?"

" Make promises you won't keep."

" I haven't yet." Chloe said a small smile pulling at her lips.

" That's what everyone says. They promise that they won't leave. They say that they care about me, and that it's different because they _care_. And then they disappear like everyone else." Beca knew how it went. She had never known someone to actually stick around. Her father left when her parents divorced. Leaving like he was going to the store and never coming back, no goodbyes, no explanations. Just the echoing of the front door closing.

" I'm not like them Beca." Chloe insisted softly. Knowing there was nothing she could say that might convince Beca she meant what she said. She didn't know much about Beca's past. For all their nights spent talking Beca still opened up very little. There were monsters in Beca's past that Chloe wanted to hear about.

" You don't know how much I want to believe you."

" So have a little faith in me. I know you haven't had the best experiences with trustworthy people. But I'm not asking you to have faith in people. I'm asking you to trust that I am not going to let you escape out of my life."

Beca felt her stomach tighten at Chloe's words and heat rise to her cheeks. Chloe always made her feel like that.

" Let me escape huh?"

" Well maybe you'll stop answering my calls, or my text messages. Like you did this week." Chloe said. There was sadness in her tone breaking Beca's heart. Especially when Chloe dropped her head, looking down at the floor hiding her face from Beca's view. Until Beca reached out and used her hand to lift Chloe's face allowing her to look into Chloe's eyes.

" Never." Beca said with such honestly in her voice Chloe believed her. It was amazing how quickly the change had come. Five minutes earlier Beca had been ready to send Chloe out of her life forever. And now here she was, promising that she wouldn't let that happen. In the back of her mind, Beca wondered if Chloe had done that on purpose. She would have challenged it if Chloe's face hadn't been so close, her lips parted _just_ so. Their bodies were almost touching, Beca could feel the warmth of Chloe's body though they weren't even touching. How Beca had never noticed it before during their many hugs was beyond her. But those moments lacked the intensity of this one.

Tilting her face into Beca's hand Chloe smiled softly, enjoying the contact. They moved closer, inch by inch without even realizing it. Beca guided Chloe down towards her lips. When their lips finally met it felt like an eternity had passed. Chloe's lips were soft against Beca's, somehow Beca always knew that they would be. For a moment Chloe's lips just lingered on Beca's waiting for reassurance that this was what Beca wanted. She didn't have to wait long when Beca leaned forward pressing her lips harder against Chloe's. It seemed like all the encouragement either of them needed to open the floodgates to all the flirtation and the tension that had been building between them all year and letting it wash over them.

Reaching out, Chloe placed her hands tentatively on the curve of Beca's hips. Even through the haze of everything that was happening Chloe was acutely aware that Beca wasn't keen on people invading her personal space. If she was uncomfortable with the closeness she made no attempt to stop their kiss. Like most things in her life Beca's kisses were tentative, like she wasn't entirely sure of what she was doing. But when Chloe parted Beca's lips, deepening their kiss by slipping her tongue deftly into Beca's mouth the smaller girl brought her other hand up around Chloe's neck to keep their lips pressed together.

Hearing the soft sounds of encouragement Beca was making, Chloe pushed Beca back against her desk desperate to keep hearing those sounds. Chloe had always guessed that Beca would be a good kisser, she didn't know how she knew it, and maybe a lot of it was wishing she might one day find out. But now that she was actually kissing Beca, Chloe was sure that there would never come a day where she would say she didn't want to kiss Beca. What Beca may have lacked in experience, having only had a few encounters with kissing in High School, she made up with in knowledge of Chloe. Chloe had never experienced a kiss like this one, not one that had the power to make her knees weak.

" If I had known me leaving was all it took to get a kiss from you I would have left months ago." Chloe teased once their kiss ended. Beca looked away though she made no attempt to move away.

" I can't talk about you leaving. It hurts too much." Beca whispered.

" Then we won't talk about it. We'll take the next five months as they come." Chloe replied pulling Beca into a tight hug. Smiling triumphantly when Beca returned her hug.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two –Present Day

The doctors and nurses kept telling her to rest. Get as much sleep as she could. And each time Beca heard it she wanted to punch them. How as she supposed to sleep when the love of her life was lying before her in pain, her child was being born a month premature posing all kinds of unknown risks. How was she supposed to rest?

Beca really didn't know if she was ready. In the coming hours she was going to be a mom. A credit she never thought she would add to her list of accomplishments. She was about to become responsible for another life. A defenseless tiny one at that. Watching Chloe try and rest, her eyes closed while the monitors around her showed a plethora of information only useful to doctors. The only one that really mattered was the baby's heartbeat; it had been plugged into the room's speakers. Beca assumed that the frenzied speed of the little heart beat was supposed to be comforting.

" Do you hear it?" Chloe asked, having seen Beca's eyes travel to the monitor. Her voice told Beca how tired she was, pushing herself off of the uncomfortable cot Beca stood and walked to Chloe's side.

" Our son's heart beat?" Beca asked.

" Mhm."

" I hear it. Strong like his moms." Watching Chloe smile, Beca ran her fingers through the fiery red locks of her wife and leaned over the side railing of the bed and kissed Chloe's forehead.

" Hey, I want you to promise me something."

" What?" Beca would promise Chloe anything. And the red head knew it, that knowledge had gotten Beca into many tricky situations.

" When he comes. Don't leave his side. If they take him to the NICU, go with him." Chloe insisted knowing Beca would want to stay with her. It had been an option that one of the nurses had mentioned and Beca knew that it had been bothering Chloe ever since.

" Babe, he isn't going to the NICU. He's going to be fine." Beca hated being the optimist. It felt so foreign to her. That was Chloe's job. The Yin to her pessimistic Yang.

" Promise. I'll be fine. But he should have you with him."

" Okay, I promise." Beca recognized that it was the fear and probably a little bit of pain talking. So she agreed. Trusting that everything would be okay. Because it had to be.

Chloe had been in labor for hours, but each time the nurse came in to check on her she hadn't seemed to progress at all. Beca had forgotten the names of half the drugs they had Chloe on to keep the labor on track. At least Chloe had agreed to have the epidural. Though they had gone into it expecting that Chloe would go natural, as the contractions continued Chloe's determination began to wane and the epidural began to look much better.

" Are my parents here yet?" Chloe asked suddenly. Beca looked down at her phone, she'd gotten several texts from people as they had arrived at the hospital, as well as a text nearly every ten minutes from Aubrey demanding when she could come in and see Chloe.

" They're out in the waiting room."

" Can you go get them?" Chloe asked.

" Sure, I'll be right back."

The waiting room was unnaturally bright in comparison to the darkened hospital room. When the automatic doors opened Beca found the waiting room had been overrun by the Beale/Bella's clan. Chloe's parents, her brother, Aubrey and Jesse, as well as Cynthia Rose and Fat Amy all stood when they saw her. Beca had also gotten a text from her dad asking her to text him when it came closer to the birth so that he could come then.

" How is she?" Chloe's mom Barbara asked first seemingly stealing the question from everyone else.

" She's doing great. She's asking for you guys." Beca said with a small smile. Everyone filed in behind Beca as she led them along the hallway, passed the nurse's station, and to Chloe's room. Beca held the door open for them as everyone filed in, Jesse being the last of them he paused in front of Beca.

" How are you holding up?" Jesse asked, he loved Chloe, and he was looking forward to meeting the little one. But he was Beca's best friend, and it was his duty to make sure she was okay.

" Freaking. But I think I'm supposed to be."

Beca followed Jesse into the back, watching as Chloe greeted her family. Each of them offering her words of encouragement and comfort. Chloe's mom being able to comfort Chloe in ways that Beca couldn't. Beca felt powerless.

**8 Years ago ( check the A/N if you're confused** **)**

Beca woke up feeling a weight on her chest that felt all together unnatural and yet completely comfortable at the same time. The dichotomy of it shaking the slumber from her brain allowing her to look down and find Chloe was using most of her upper body as a personal pillow. Her head cushioned by Beca's chest. Beca didn't remember exactly when they had fallen asleep.

Having never been a fan of cuddling Beca found the instinct to run did flare and for a moment she felt like she was being smothered. Close proximity to people generally did that, it's why she kept her distance. But she forced that feeling away, this was Chloe. And she didn't want Chloe to go anywhere other than where she was.

" You're heart is beating really fast." Chloe commented having woken up when Beca had suddenly tensed.

" Sorry." Beca mumbled as Chloe lifted her head to look at the brunette.

" It's okay. It just means I have an effect on you." Chloe said brightly looking altogether too perky for so early in the morning.

" I could have told you that." Beca replied checking the time. It was nearly five in the morning. They'd slept through the entire night, but Beca's brain still screamed at her to go back to sleep. She didn't do early mornings, there was a reason none of her classes began before noon.

" Would you have though?" Chloe questioned. Beca didn't blame Chloe for asking, openness was never a word anyone would use to describe Beca.

" If you had asked."

" I'll remember that." Silence reclaimed the room and it felt like a comfortable blanket resting over them. There was a lot they needed to talk about but the time being they could wait and enjoy the moment.

" Do you have any classes today?" Chloe asked finally, her chin resting against Beca's best bone, her blue eyes sparkling.

" Philosophy at noon." Beca replied having skipped most of the week.

" I have English at nine." Chloe groaned.

" Ew."

" I'm going to head to my room and shower." Chloe said already moving off of Beca. Beca was surprised that she actually missed the heat of Chloe's body as soon as she got up.

" O-okay." Beca replied still not sure what was going on between them. Several kisses would suggest they had transcended friendship. But she was afraid to ask. Chloe smiled down at Beca thinking that early morning Beca was adorable.

" You're cute when you pout."

" I'm not pouting."

" Right. Anyway, you're taking me out tonight." Chloe said determined.

" I am?"

" You are." Chloe confirmed. Beca still wasn't sure what was happening but she knew better than to argue with Chloe when Chloe made her mind up about something. And taking Chloe out on a date didn't sound too terrible of an idea.

" Okay." Beca found herself agreeing.

" Good, it's a date." Chloe said cheerfully. Beca couldn't believe that anybody could be so cheerful at five in the morning. But it wasn't too surprising that if those people did exist Chloe would be one of them. Taking in Chloe's appearance Beca didn't know how she'd somehow missed how beautiful Chloe was. She always knew Chloe was pretty. She would have to be blind not to notice that. But there was something different now. Chloe was breathtakingly gorgeous. She even looked good when she wasn't trying.

Leaning down to press a kiss to Beca's lips, it would have been easier if it had been a chaste kiss. But it was a kiss intended to provoke arousal. Even if Chloe hadn't meant it to be, it made Beca's blood boil. Chloe's lips moving confidently, and intently over Beca's parting the brunette's lips and deepening the kiss by sliding her tongue along Beca's.

Sitting up, determined to prolong the kiss as long as possible Beca slid her hand around Chloe's neck pulling the red head back towards the bed. She succeeded when Chloe crawled back onto the bed, her knees framing Beca's hips as the kiss quickly intensified.

" I have…to go." Chloe insisted though her words lacked any conviction.

" You have like four hours." Beca said her voice several octaves lower than normal hinting at the level of arousal that had seemed to replace the sleep deprivation.

" But I need a very long, cold shower." Chloe said her eyes shut tightly as Beca's lips trailed hot, open mouth kisses along her neck before closing around her pulse point.

" Five more minutes." Beca requested.

Chloe managed to race into class with only seconds to spare earning her a disapproving glare from her professor. Sliding into her seat next to Aubrey as the professor began his lecture. Aware of the curious and amused look on her best friends face Chloe blushed furiously. "Five more minutes" to Beca translated into three more hours of intense making out and a very rushed shower.

" What's up? You're never late." Aubrey demanded, her tone appropriately hushed as the professor droned on.

" Overslept." Chloe said. Her answer seemed to satisfy Aubrey at least for the time being.

Class drug on and Chloe was never happier when it was over. Packing her things as the class emptied Chloe saw Aubrey waiting expectantly for her. Chloe knew the look on Aubrey's face meant that she expected a more believable answer than she overslept. Chloe didn't over sleep.

" So what really happened?" Aubrey asked.

" I was at Beca's." Chloe answered. She didn't lie to Aubrey. It was one of the founding pillars of their friendship. No matter what the truth was, it was always shared.

" Did you get her to talk to you?" Even Aubrey had been worried about Beca. The extreme level of Beca's withdrawal.

" We…talked."

" Vague." Aubrey's eyes narrowed until she saw Chloe's face redden and her eyes went wide. " You didn't!"

" What? No! We just slept. And kissed. A lot." Chloe replied as they left the Hall.

" Chloe Beale!" Aubrey practically shrieked. Chloe shushed her friend and looked around as several people had turned to look at them.

" Shush."

" So are you guys together?"

" We haven't really figured that out yet?"

" Oh My God!"

" Are you upset?" Chloe asked nervously. Aubrey had never had a problem with Chloe being with women. But given Aubrey's dislike of Beca Chloe wouldn't put it past her best friend to not approve.

" No. You obviously have a toner for her. I'm just glad you're finally doing something about it." Aubrey replied. " And it looks like you must have made an impression." Aubrey added nodding at something over Chloe's shoulder. Chloe turned and saw Beca walking towards them, nothing could have stopped the brilliant smile that lit up Chloe's face when she saw the brunette.

" Hey." Beca greeted looking between Aubrey and Chloe. She didn't know how much of what happened Chloe had shared with Aubrey, though she didn't doubt that Chloe intended on telling Aubrey everything. Handing Chloe one of the coffee cups she had been holding she saw Chloe's eyebrow raise in question. " I know you didn't have a chance for coffee this morning." Beca explained trying to keep her tone nonchalant.

" Thanks! You're so sweet." Chloe beamed at the shorter girl who looked like she was about to shrink into herself a little more under the attention. Aubrey was surprised when Beca turned towards her and held out the second cup.

" Triple soy caramel macchiato at 165 degrees." Beca announced.

" You brought me coffee?" Aubrey asked surprised.

" I knew you had this class with Chloe, which is at a ridiculously early hour. I figured you might want it." Beca offered with a shrug. Chloe watched the interaction, her adoration of Beca going through the roof. Beca had brought Aubrey coffee, the two women were at least better now that they didn't have to worry about nationals. But they weren't friends. But Beca had brought Aubrey coffee because she knew that Chloe would appreciate the gesture. It was heartwarming.

" Thank you." Aubrey said stunned.

" I have to get to class. Have a good day ladies." Beca said quickly turning and walking towards her class, which happened to be on the opposite end of campus. She had just enough time to get there. For several minutes the two seniors watched Beca's retreating form.

" Doesn't mean I approve of her." Aubrey commented.

Beca tossed another rejected top onto her bed, she had another few hours before she was supposed to meet Chloe for their date. Nervous was an understatement , she was terrified. She didn't date much in high school, a handful of forgettable movie dates with guys who were only interested in getting into her pants. She'd never been on a date with someone she actually cared about. Let alone a woman. She was treading in new territory and this was around the time she would turn and run away.

Hearing a knock, Beca threw open her dorm room door and found Jesse standing looking overly amused. Beca had called him in a panic about what to do, and especially what to wear. And he had agreed to come over and help her get ready. At first Beca had worried that things might be awkward between them. After the kiss they had shared after the ICCA's, but they both agreed they were better off as friends.

" What are your options?" Jesse asked curiously looking at the pile of clothes.

" We're going to dinner in town. I want to look casual but like I made an effort to look nice for her you know?"

" Bec, calm down. You're forgetting that Chloe already knows you. She already likes you. Yes, you want to look nice. But you've already impressed her." Jesse had never seen his usually stoic friend looking so frazzled. He would have teased her about it if he wasn't worried she might pass out.

" I just want it to be perfect."

" And it will."

Jesse helped Beca settle on something simple and yet slightly more dressed up than what she wore on a daily basis. The fact that Beca's wardrobe didn't expand much beyond checked shirts and tank tops made any variety a little difficult. But as Jesse was raiding his closet he found, shoved in the back of Beca's closet a white top that he pulled out for further inspection. It didn't look over the top elegant, but the thing about Beca was that she managed to make clothes that should look frumpy look surprisingly good. Jesse bet she would look good in pretty much anything. But this top was just different enough. It was a long sleeve white cotton shirt, the collar of the shirt was low cut allowing for a glimpse at Beca's chest while keeping it modest. It was long enough that it would go over the waist band of whatever pants she decided on wearing. And the sleeves had a lace trim down the sides adding a bit of a unique flare.

" You should wear this, it's perfect." Jesse offered holding it out to Beca. Beca hesitantly took it, she hadn't ever worn it. It had been a birthday present from the step-monster who assumed that she liked clothes.

" You think?"

" Definitely."

Beca tried to get her nerves under control while she walked the distance between her dorm room and Chloe's. Jesse's pep talk had helped a little bit but there was no way that her nerves were going to settled completely. No matter how much she repeated to herself that this was Chloe. _Chloe._ Chloe was pretty much the only person that she felt even remotely comfortable around.

Knocking gently on Chloe's door and waited until Chloe opened the door. Beca had a witty comment to say when she saw Chloe, all of them went out the door when Chloe opened the door. Everything disappeared and all Beca could focus on was the woman standing before her. Chloe was…

" Stunning." Beca breathed. Looking Chloe up and down Chloe's smiled at the effect she had on Beca.

" Thank you." Chloe said inviting Beca inside. Beca silently followed Chloe into her single dorm, closing the door behind them.

" You clean up nicely too." Chloe said appreciatively.

" How is it you can look so…amazing so effortlessly." Beca asked genuinely. Beca couldn't figure it out. Chloe had told her that she was pretty confident about her body. From everything Beca had seen Chloe should be. But Beca had seen women that put away too much time into their appearance and managed to make themselves look horrible. Chloe always seemed to look breathtaking.

" Flattery will get you everywhere." Chloe said pulling Beca to her and wrapping her arms around Beca's slim waist.

" Is it still flattery if it's true?"

" Okay, okay charmer. I like this side of you." Chloe commented seeing the faint blush cover Beca's face. Beca had to admit Chloe had a way of enticing the mushy, romantic side out of her. It was a revelation that Beca wasn't entirely sure how she felt about. She wasn't good at compliments, giving or receiving them, she was good at sass and sarcasm. But if just one compliment, that happened to be true, was what it took to get one of Chloe's 1000 watt smiles it was worth losing some bad ass points.

" So, what are we doing tonight?" Beca asked curiously, the idea of spending an entire night in Chloe's dorm did seem nice but Beca was guessing that Chloe wanted to go out and do something. They hadn't talked about it outright, but Beca knew from the conversations that they'd had about it. Beca had posed the idea of spending the night, just the two of them, in Chloe's dorm and watching a movie or something. Even with how much Beca hated movies. But Chloe had said she wanted to get out and go to dinner or something instead. It was in the way Chloe had said it that clued Beca in. Chloe wanted something that felt like an official date to add some legitimacy to what they were. They hadn't talked about it, they hadn't stamped a label on whatever they were doing. And Beca guessed that Chloe wanted reassurance that whatever it was between them was actually a thing.

" Dinner in town." Chloe answered.

" Are you going to wine and dine me Miss Beale?"

" Well seeing as how you hate movies…" Chloe said letting out a dramatic sigh.

" I can't help it!" Beca pouted defensively.

" It's okay. But in a college town there are few things to do other than go to the movie theater. No matter, I am up for the challenge."

" Come on, we should get going." Beca said helping Chloe with her coat and following the red head out of her dorm.

Barden was only about a thirty minute drive from Atlanta, but Chloe thought for their first date they should stay local. There really wasn't much to do around town other than some restaurants, a few shops, a couple bars, and one Movie Theater. The restaurant Chloe picked was a local favorite, casual yet had some of the best food Chloe had ever had. They were greeted by their waiter and shown to their table.

" Do you have big plans for after finals?" Chloe asked conversationally while they both looked over the menu. Beca shrugged, she hadn't put much thought into it. She hadn't expected to be staying at Barden after the end of the year.

" I haven't really thought about it." Beca replied honestly. Chloe knew there was more to it but decided not to press. Not yet anyway. Beca hadn't told Chloe about the deal that she made with her dad, she didn't want to tell anyone.

" What about summer? Surely you aren't staying at Barden." Chloe knew probably better than anyone how much Beca hated the college. The idea that the brunette would willingly stay there when she didn't have to was laughable.

" Definitely not. I might try and go to LA or something dabble in the music scene. See if I can get noticed."

" They would be idiots not to." Looking across the table at Chloe, the red head had already turned her attention down to the menu leaving Beca befuddled with how much faith Chloe seemed to have in her. Chloe was like that, 100% of the time, she was encouraging and supportive no matter what. It had been the first thing that Beca had fallen for when she finally acknowledged her crush. Chloe was the type of person that would support her even if she declared one day that she wanted to go off and join the circus.

When their food arrived conversation continued casually, topics were light mostly stories of past events that had them both chuckling. They avoided topics about Chloe leaving, Beca had meant it when she told Chloe that she couldn't think about it without a sharp pain going through the pit of her stomach and feeling like she'd just been sucker punched. Beca had tried not to think about it but found that he couldn't think about anything else.

" What are you thinking about?" Chloe asked, her hand touching Beca's to shake the smaller girl out of her thoughts. Chloe had seen the distant look wash over Beca's face and wondered what dark thoughts were consuming Beca's mind.

" New York." Beca replied slowly leaning back into the plush booth.

" I thought…you didn't want to talk about that." Feeling a lump form in her throat Chloe watched Beca closely, taking cues from the brunette's body language not the words that would come out of her mouth. Chloe had gotten remarkably good at reading Beca during the time that they had spent together the previous year. The way that Beca always bit her lower lip when she was nervous, or the way Beca couldn't maintain eye contact as she diverted the topic of conversation away from what she didn't want to talk about.

" I don't. But we should before we get to serious about whatever it is that we're doing." Beca said reasonably.

" And we will. But not tonight. Tonight is about making good memories, not talking about something that we both know is going to make us emotional."

" Fair enough." With that the topic was dropped and a newer more light hearted topic of conversation took over, the end of the year Riff-Off. Beca had thought that one Riff-Off in a year was enough, plenty even. But to have two was overkill. Still, Beca couldn't help but think it was adorable the way that Chloe's face lit up as she talked about it. It was supposed to kick off a weekend of acapella celebration, Friday night would be the Riff-Off, and Saturday would be the actual party down on the beach. Apparently it was a big deal.

" I think that it would be really cool if we won. Since it's you know, Aubrey and my last year here." Chloe mentioned casually as they were walking back from Chloe's car towards the dorms. Though the comment was said casually, and to anyone less astute as Beca they might have missed it. But Beca recognized the challenge in Chloe's tone.

" Oh no, you are not putting this one on me. I won you guys the ICCA's. My obligation to acapella is over!" Beca protested unable to contain her laughter as Chloe pouted at her.

" But it would be so awesome!"

" You mean aca-awesome?" Beca teased.

" Yes aca-awesome." Chloe chimed in reaching her hand and catching Beca's hand with her one. Beca looked down at their joined hands, feeling the slight coolness of Chloe's fingers against her own. The air around them grew thick with as Beca couldn't help but look at their joined hands before glancing up at Chloe. Chloe waited anxiously to see what Beca would do, it was a huge jump trying to hold hands with Beca given how much she hated physical contact. Chloe was beginning to think that she had overstepped when she felt Beca's fingers slowly working around her own until they were comfortably holding hands. The contact was still hesitant, as if Beca wasn't sure if she liked the sensation of it. But then something happened, and Chloe's heart swelled at the sight, Beca looked up at her a smile pulling at her face brighter than any that Chloe had ever seen. It was as if Beca had just achieved a feat she didn't believe she could. They walked back to Chloe's dorm room hand in hand, every once and a while Beca would look down to see if something had changed or something happened. Chloe thought the whole thing was precious.

**Present Day**

Chloe was miserable. There weren't quite words that could describe what she was feeling. The pain medication they had given her had taken the edge off of the contractions but that didn't mean when there was a particularly brutal one she didn't feel like she was being ripped apart. Having her family there was helpful, a distraction from lingering thoughts of how much it hurt.

Squeezing Beca's hand as another contraction began Chloe glanced up at her wife, who had been talking about something or other with Chloe's dad but abruptly looked down at Chloe.

" Sonofabitch." Chloe whispered when it was over, looking up at Beca apologetically. Beca only smiled down at her and kissed her forehead. " I'm really ready for this to be over now."

" I know baby." Beca said sadly, wishing that she could somehow make this easier on Chloe. Seeing Chloe in so much pain was not something she ever wanted to see, especially knowing there was nothing she could do about it. Chloe looked down at their joined hands, it was impossible to keep her mind from going back to that first time they had ever held hands. Though Beca was more comfortable doing it now, every once and a while when they held hands Chloe caught sight of Beca looking at their intertwined fingers with the same look of bewilderment.

**So...what do you think?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

" Looks like you're at about three centimeters." Chloe looked down at Sarah with a glare that was sure to kill, to the point where the nurse cautiously moved back.

" It's been hours!" Chloe groaned falling back against the pillows.

" These things do take time." Sarah said looking over at Beca for some sort of help soothing Chloe. Beca looked between the women, wanting nothing more than to make Chloe's pain stop but knowing that there was nothing that she could do.

" Is there anything we can do?" Beca asked anyway.

" The doctors going to come in and start you on an IV of something that's going to help with that a little. But really, we don't want to rush this. If we can keep the little bun in the oven a little longer than that's a good thing." Sarah offered trying to be optimistic. Beca couldn't think of the irony that came with someone telling Chloe she needed to be optimistic.

" Thanks Sarah." Beca said watching as the nurse left.

" You're flirting with her!" Chloe insisted dropping Beca's hand.

" What?" Beca asked looking down at Chloe as if she had grown a second head.

" I don't blame you. I mean, she's hot and I look like a whale." Chloe whimpered looking down at her own body.

" Babe, you look amazing and you are giving birth to our son. I don't think anything could be more beautiful than that." Beca said reaching for Chloe's hand and finding the red head avoiding her hand.

" So you admit she's pretty."

" Chloe…"

" Go away. I just want Aubrey and my mom right now." Chloe said turning away from Beca.

" Okay. I'll be outside."

Beca walked out into the waiting room, still confused about what had just happened. She knew that Chloe was in pain and frustrated but to accuse her of flirting when she was only trying to be nice was a little bit of a stretch.

" How is she?" Aubrey asked walking over to Beca. Looking at the small table that housed magazines meant to keep those waiting occupied Beca saw it covered with empty coffee cups and snack food containers. Chloe would like to know that there were so many people willing to stay in uncomfortable waiting room chairs for her. Fat Amy had gone home only to be replaced with Stacie and Lily. Both of them sat up a little straighter hoping that Beca's sudden appearance meant that she was going to tell them that Chloe had given birth. When she shook her head they both fell back into their chairs.

" She wants to see you guys. I'm exiled." Beca said with a defeated shrug.

" Exiled? What did you do?" Aubrey demanded.

" I didn't do anything. She thought I was flirting with the nurse." Beca said helplessly. Even Aubrey took pity on Beca at hearing why Chloe had kicked her out. She knew enough about Beca and Chloe's relationship to know that Chloe was everything to Beca. Beca had not met a woman yet that could sway her attention away from Chloe.

" That's the pain talking dear. Don't worry. I must have sent Chloe's father out of the room a dozen times. She'll get over it soon enough." Barbara offered following Aubrey towards Chloe's room. Beca walked over to the couch and fell into it, she was exhausted. She'd tried to sleep but hadn't really been able to. Though at this rate it was quite possible her body was going to make her sleep whether she wanted to or not.

" How you holding up kiddo?" Looking up as a cup of hospital vending machine coffee was placed on the table in front of her Beca saw her father-in-law Victor looking down at her.

" I wish I knew how to help. I feel so helpless and she's in there in pain."

" Trust me, having you by her side does help. Even if it doesn't seem like it right now."

" But I'm not in there with her. She doesn't want to see me."

" She will."

" Thanks Vic."

**8 years ago**

Hand holding got a little easier for Beca in the coming days. Even if it wasn't natural for Beca to reach over and take Chloe's hand when Chloe initiated it she didn't fight it. After their first date the two of them saw each other almost every day counting down to the Riff-Off, 'study sessions' is what Chloe called them. Even if they got very little studying done during them. They were sitting in Chloe's room one afternoon studying. It was their routine to meet up in Chloe's room after classes, they would study for a bit and then they would do something else. Usually Beca ended up working on her mixes and Chloe would read or she would simply watch Beca while she worked. Watching the young DJ as she became completely immersed in music was probably the most amazing thing that Chloe had ever seen. It was when Chloe got to see a glimpse of Beca completely unguarded, when she let the façade of who she wanted the world to see fade into someone that was just purely Beca.

After their first date the two hadn't really done anything more than holding hands. It was a fact that Chloe thought she might have a problem with. Most of her prior relationships had led to sex almost immediately after the inception of the relationship. Physical intimacy was just natural to Chloe. But it had actually been Aubrey who explained to Chloe that not everyone worked that way, and people like Beca would need to slowly ease into things like that. So Chloe was determined to give Beca space, let Beca dictate the pace of their relationship. Even if Chloe found it completely irresistible the way Beca bit her bottom lip when she was concentrating, or how Beca ran her fingers through her hair when she was concentrating really hard on making a mix sound _just_ right.

Beca felt Chloe's fingers dance along her palm and the words of her Philosophy text book began to blur. They were sitting perpendicularly on Chloe's bed, Beca's legs crossing over Chloe's with their text books open on their legs. Beca looked up at Chloe and saw a content smile playing at her lips even though she had not looked up from her book.

" Is it time for a study break yet?" Beca asked closing her textbook. She would never care about Philosophy. She could try and try but she would never get it, and the fact that her final would be worth 70% of her grade should worry her. But she had other things to focus on, namely her incredibly hot girlfriend sitting next to her.

" It's only been 45 minutes." Chloe commented.

" You can keep studying. I'll just work on mixes." Beca said reaching for her bag.

" Aubrey wants to have a rehearsal for the Riff-Off." The one that was in two days. Beca only rolled her eyes.

" You can't rehearse something that's meant to be random. She does know that right?" Beca knew Aubrey was a control freak but she had hoped that the Captain would calm down a little bit since they won nationals.

" But we can practice."

" Chloe…" Beca whined. Chloe was sure that her girlfriend would have stomped her feet if she had been standing.

" It's only a couple of hours."

" Are we talking about the same Aubrey Posen? A few hours means we'll be there all night. I had hoped to spend this evening with you." Beca said.

" Really?"

" Well yeah. Unless you're busy." Beca said insecurity beginning to seep into her tone.

" No, I was just worried you might be getting sick of me. We have spent every day together." Chloe watched as uncertainty washed over Beca like a tidal wave, and mentally kicked herself.

" I wasn't…I mean if you are. I can go. I didn't mean to monopolize all your time." Beca began as she scrambled to untangle herself from Chloe's legs.

" Nononono Beca that isn't what I meant at all." Chloe said catching Beca by the elbow. Beca didn't look up from her lap, a bad sign.

" I mean. I get it." Beca continued.

" Babe, I love spending copious amounts of time with you. That wasn't how I meant to say it." Chloe said feeling Beca strain against her grip a little less. Finally Beca looked at Chloe, her eyes still downcast but at least she was looking at Chloe.

" Who uses the word copious?" Beca muttered.

" I do. And it applies in this situation. I didn't mean that I didn't want to spend time with you. I do. I just didn't want to smother you I know how much you like your 'you' time." Beca knew that Chloe was just trying to be considerate, she was just being the amazingly fantastic girl that Chloe always had been. And Beca really didn't need to freak out like she was. But all of this was so new to her, being in a relationship, having someone else's emotions and thoughts to be responsible for. It all was a lot to adjust to.

" I really do like my 'me' time. I guess it's weird now that I just want to spend time with you. And it's like…" Beca paused trying to collect her thoughts and make them into a coherent sentence. Chloe waited patiently though she desperately wanted to hear what Beca was trying to say. " When I'm not with you, I want to be. I wonder what you're doing, and I just think about you all the time. That's new to me." Beca confessed looking over at Chloe hoping that what she had said somehow made sense to the redhead.

" I think that means you like me."

" Well duh."

" Beca, what you just described, trust me its normal." Chloe said reassuringly.

" It feels like early onset insanity." Beca said while she settled back down on the bed no longer looking for the quickest way to run out of the dorm room.

" Welcome to the world of relationships. It's not too bad is it?" Chloe asked finally allowing her insecurities to show a little bit.

" I could learn to like it."

" You better!"

" What's not to like? You're kinda amazing."

Beca didn't see exactly when Chloe started to move, but before she knew it Chloe was right in front of her having abandoned her study material and crawling towards the edge of the bed where Beca sat. And then suddenly Chloe was hugging her, an activity that Beca normally detested, yet Beca didn't pull away. Chloe's arms encased Beca in what Beca could only describe as an envelope of warmth. Beca normally found hugs to be suffocating, and they always lasted too long. Attributing it to her fondness of the redhead Beca found Chloe's hugs pleasant.

Feeling the air around them shift Beca glanced down at Chloe's lips, they caught the light in such a way that they shimmered in the most enticing way. Vaguely Beca was aware of Chloe's fingers busying themselves in her hair, blunt fingernails running along her scalp making her shiver. But Beca was too caught up in watching as Chloe's lips grew closer and closer to care about anything else that was going on. Beca was sure that a bomb could go off and she wouldn't even notice. Their lips met after what felt like an eternity and Beca's eyes slid shut, content to focus on nothing other than the feeling of Chloe's lips as they moved on hers.

Their bodies moved without either one of them having to consciously think about it, moving to maximize contact without once breaking their kiss. When their kiss deepened, Chloe's tongue slipping between Beca's lips, both released a soft sigh. Without realizing it Beca had come to straddle Chloe's hips, with Chloe's hands finding their way to Beca's hips both to keep the brunette where she was and also to steady her. As their kiss continued Chloe felt Beca's fingertips tracing along the side of her face, like Beca was testing to make sure that she were real. If she weren't otherwise occupied Chloe would have commented on how adorable she thought that was.

As their kiss grew in fervor Beca's senses were overtaken by all things Chloe, the subtle notes of Chloe's body wash as it filled her nose. Chloe didn't wear perfume; she didn't need to in Beca's opinion. Chloe always managed to smell so good. The feeling of Chloe's fingers as they pressed ever so slightly into the skin of Beca's hip. A pleasant indication that while Chloe was attempting to be good by keeping her hands in a perfectly acceptable, neutral area, she definitely wanted to explore a little bit. And the sounds. _The sounds_ that Chloe was making were enough to make Beca dizzy. Never had anyone in the history of ever captured Beca's attention so completely. Beca wanted to know ever sound, every feeling, everything.

When their kiss broke it wasn't because of lack of oxygen. It was because Chloe was determined to kiss a trail of hot open mouthed kisses down Beca's neck. A decision she was rewarded for in the soft whimper that came from Beca's lips and the way Beca pressed ever further into Chloe. Nipping at the soft skin of Beca's pulse point, Chloe found that it must have been a particularly sensitive spot for Beca judging from the reaction. The sound Beca makes is beyond description and Chloe has to close her fists tightly around the material of Beca's shirt to keep from touching Beca. Chloe had always been impulsive, restraint wasn't one of her strong suits and this was definitely pushing Chloe's willpower to behave.

" Chloe." Beca whimpered her voice low and thick with desire. Chloe released the skin beneath her lips and looked up at Beca.

" Do you want to stop?" Chloe asked trying to shake the cloud of desire that was making higher brain function next to impossible.

" No." Beca answered convincingly, but there was something in Beca's tone that made Chloe pause.

" Do you _need_ to stop?" Chloe clarified. Watching as the question washed over Beca and finally, Beca nodded. It was a very faint nod, had Chloe not been looking for it she would have missed it entirely.

" I just…I'm sorry." Beca apologized. Embarrassment making her cheeks turn bright red Beca moved off of Chloe until she was sitting on the mattress next to Chloe.

" It's okay Beca. Did I do something, I mean…was something wrong?"

" No! God no, you're amazing. And everything was right." Beca knew where this line of questioning was going and she wasn't really sure if she was ready for it to go there. But this was Chloe, and Beca had promised herself that with Chloe things were going to be different. She wasn't going to allow herself to push Chloe away like she did with everyone else in her life. That, however did not make what was about to happen any easier.

" Then what is it?" Chloe asked, her tone soft and her eyes showing just how much she cared. It wasn't fair, Beca didn't deserve someone as great as Chloe. Dropping her gaze, suddenly very interested in the details of Chloe's mattress Beca falls silent. Maybe it's because Chloe knows her so well she could practically read Beca like an open book. Or maybe it's just a lucky guess. Either way Beca doesn't even have to say the words for Chloe to know what it is that Beca is about to say. " You're a…"

" God don't say it. It sounds so pathetic when said out loud." Beca interrupted. Chloe sat silently staring at the DJ. She didn't know why she assumed that Beca wouldn't be a virgin, in all of their times talking during the year it had never come up. Beca had never mentioned past relationships and Chloe had never really asked. Chloe just sort of assumed Beca had had sex, assuming would be something she wouldn't be doing again. At least not where Beca was concerned.

" It's nothing to be ashamed of Beca." Chloe said.

" It's not?"

" No. It just means that you were waiting for the right time and didn't rush it."

" Why are you so cool with this? I am emotionally retarded, I have never had sex, never been in any sort of serious relationship. If I were you I'd be running for the hills. It's a lot of baggage to take on." Beca insisted. Though she didn't know why she was trying to talk Chloe out of being in a relationship with her. Maybe because she wanted Chloe to know what she was getting into. Full disclosure and all that. But at the same time she was terrified that Chloe would agree with her and walk away.

" You're not emotionally retarded. Beca, I like you. A lot. I fell for the emotionally withdrawn alt girl who makes amazing mixes and dreams of being a big shot DJ. So you've never been in a serious relationship, I'm a really good teacher. Besides, we already have the friend thing down that's one huge hurtle we don't have to deal with. As for the whole sex thing, if it happens it happens. I'm in no rush." Chloe promised though she meant what she said she knew that being patient would be difficult. Beca was an amazing kisser, better than anyone Chloe had been with before and as such it was so easy to get lost in Beca and forget that she was supposed to be holding back.

" I don't deserve you."

" Yes you do."

Several hours later Beca followed Chloe into the rehearsal hall and found that most of the Bella's were there already. Broken into small groups having different conversations Beca hoped that their obviously late arrival wouldn't be noticed. Until she saw Aubrey break away from her conversation with Fat Amy and look down at her watch. Inwardly groaning Beca knew the lecture that would follow.

" So nice of you guys to join us." There was no harshness in her tone if anything there was a bit of playfulness. Beca couldn't argue that there was a change in the Bella's captain since they won. Beca had seen Aubrey smile more in the past few weeks, she was beginning to see the woman that Chloe was always talking about. Despite everything that had happened over the course of the year Chloe had remained protective and defensive of Aubrey, no matter how cruel she was. The two had a friendship that Beca doubted she would ever understand, and she was okay with that.

" My fault." Chloe chimed in, although that wasn't the entire truth Beca wasn't going to voluntarily step into Aubrey's wrath.

" Aubrey why are we here? I mean, it's a Riff-Off. You can't prepare for those. We don't even know what categories there will be." Cynthia Rose chimed in, echoing Beca's argument before the DJ got a chance.

" We can always prepare." Aubrey huffed. Maybe Beca was imagining it but when she looked at the Bella's Captain she noticed that there was something underneath the words that she was saying. The way that people spoke when they had something they wanted to say but they didn't know how to voice it so they covered it with something else. Beca knew that kind of deceptive talking well enough to be able to identify it when someone else was using it. Aubrey was going to miss being with the Bella's, she was going to graduate and no longer have the group of misfits when she and Chloe went off to New York.

Much to Beca and the other Bella's relief their rehearsal wasn't like their previous Bella rehearsals where Aubrey and Chloe organized it like a boot camp. It was the ten girls singing covers to song, every once and a while one of them would hijack the song from another. It was an enjoyable way to spend the night even if it wasn't spending quality time with Chloe.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four –Present Day  
**

" You okay?" Looking up Beca saw Sarah looking down at her concerned. After being exiled from Chloe's room Beca had taken up residence in the waiting room, though she had hardly been idle. She went from sitting on the couch to pacing the hallway, and then finally she sat crouched against the wall in a position that no one thought was confortable but knew better than to tell her to move. Sarah had been watching from the nurses' station, her heart breaking a little each time she saw the tortured expression on Beca's face.

" My wife doesn't want to see me and is in almost near constant agony. There isn't anything I can do to make her pain go away. Other than that, I'm fantastic." Beca replied sardonically. Once the words left her mouth though she cast an apologetic glance at Sarah, everyone else in her life knew that sarcasm was Beca's usual defense mechanism when she was in a situation she wasn't comfortable with. But to anyone else it would come across as just being mean.

" She doesn't mean it." Sarah offered as helpfully as she could. Working in the maternity wards Sarah had seen a lot of couples go through the very same issue.

" I know."

" But you want to me with her. I get it. You really should take this time to get something to eat. We're taking care of Chloe, you need to keep yourself taken care of."

" I'm not hungry."

" Beca." Sarah warned.

" Really I'm okay. I just need my wife to be okay." Sarah nodded and walked back to the nurses' station knowing that she wasn't going to be able to convince Beca to eat.

" She's right you know." Jesse commented looking up from his magazine. Beca looked up and glared at her best friend. He was one of the others who hadn't left yet. Even though Beca was sure that this went well above and beyond the duties of a best friend each time someone hinted that Jesse go home he refused. Said he didn't have anywhere else to be. Which was both heartwarming and true since Beca was technically his boss, if she wasn't at work then he didn't need to be either.

" Shut up."

" Why don't you go see her. See if she's over it yet." Beca knew that she should. But she was a little afraid of Chloe not wanting to see her. Though finally she pushed to her feet Beca wandered towards Chloe's room. Giving herself the mother of all pep talks before she knocked on the door and waited for Barbara to answer it.

" Is it safe?" Beca asked quietly. Barbara smiled at her daughter in law and ushered her in.

" She was just asking for you."

Beca ducked around the curtain at Chloe, the red head was lying looking away from her talking with Aubrey while Victor lingered in the corner looking very uncomfortable. Beca didn't blame him. Aubrey saw Beca first, not remembering seeing Beca so unsure except for during the brunette's freshmen year. Following Aubrey's gaze Chloe turned and saw Beca, a smile gracing her otherwise exhausted expression.

" Hey." Beca greeted.

" Where did you go?" Chloe asked reaching for Beca, Aubrey moved out of the way so that Beca could get closer.

" The waiting room."

" Don't go away again." Chloe insisted.

" I won't."

**8 Years ago**

Beca walked into the drained pool with the other Bella's, already there was quite a gathering of people come to watch the final faceoff between the Bella's and the Trebles for that season. Following Chloe towards what was apparently the Bella's corner, meaning it was where they had been standing during the first Riff-Off. The Trebles were gathered across from them. Noticeably absent were the BU Harmonics and the High Notes, though most of them were around the edge of the pool as spectators.

Watching as Justin walked to the center of the pool and explained the rules Beca found that these were different than the first Riff-Off rules. Since there were only two teams now, to make it more interesting there had been amendments added.

" To start off tonight's festivities the two future team Captains will compete to determine which team has first round advantage. If you'd both come forward please." Before Beca knew it she was being shoved into the middle of the pool almost running into Jesse. Spinning around to look at the girls behind her Beca could see Chloe smiling deviously at her. They hadn't talked about this sort of thing yet.

" Is this without the help of our group?" Jesse asked curiously. He looked probably as surprised as Beca was to suddenly be nominated for the position of Captain.

" Without the help of your group. The rules are, if you reach the end of the song that you have chosen then you have won. If by some miracle the two of you can keep this thing going the time limit will be ten minutes. Whoever is last singing at the end of the ten minutes is the winner. Understand?" Justin asked looking between the two and seeing them both nod. " Alright then, after I've given you thee starting prompt any song is fair game. To start you off your category is The Beatles."

Beca didn't even think she just stepped forward.

_I've just seen a face_

_I can't forget the time or place_

_Where we just met_

_She's just the girl for me_

_And I want all the world to see_

_We've met, mmm-mmm-mmm-m'mmm-mmm_

Beca stopped when Jesse gestured that he was about to take over.

_Mmm let me talk to 'em_

_C'mon!_

_Shorty had them apple bottom jeans (jeans)_

_Boots with the fur (with the fur)_

_The whole club was looking at her_

_She hit the floor (she hit the floor)_

_Next thing you know_

_Shorty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low_

_Them baggy sweat pants_

_And the Reebok's with the straps (with the straps)_

_She turned around and gave that big booty a smack (hey)_

_She hit the –_

To her credit, Beca recovered from seeing Jesse rap pretty quickly. But as she stomped her foot announcing her intention of interrupting Jesse stopped.

_Floor, floor_

_I love to dance_

_So give me more, more_

' _Til I can't stant_

_Get on the floor, floor_

_Like it's your last chance_

_If you want more, more_

_Then here I am_

_Starships were meant to fly_

_Hands up and touch the sky_

_Can't stop 'cause we're so high_

_Let's do this one more time_

_Starships were meant to fly_

_Hands up and touch the sky_

_Let's do this one last time_

_Can't stop…_

_We're higher than a motherfucker_

_Jump in my hooptie hooptie hoop_

_I own that_

_And I ain't paying my rent this month_

_I owe that_

_But fuck who you want, and fuck who you like_

_That's our life, there's no end in sight_

_Twinkle, Twinkle little star_

_Now everybody let me hear you say ray ray ray_

_Now spend all your money cause today's pay day_

_And if you're a G, you a G,G,G_

_My name is Onika, you can call me Nicki…_

Seeing Jesse shake his head in defeat and step back there was an eruption of applause. Most coming from behind her as the other Bella's were overjoyed that they had won whatever small benefit came from winning this early challenge. Walking back to the other Bella's Beca saw that they were all smiling at her and whispering statements of praise.

The rest of the Riff- Off sped by, there was a fair amount of laughs and there were also a fair amount of good lyrical dueling. As it turns out, both Beca and Jesse were extremely competitive. It was close several times but once they were on a roll there was no stopping the Bella's. They dominated each round until finally Justin declared the Bella's as the winners.

Moving the whole gathering from the abandoned pool to the outdoor amphitheater where they had held the aca-initiation night. It seemed fitting that they end the acapella season where it had all began. Still high off their victory most of the Bella's went off to find themselves both drinks and companionship for the night, Beca lingered back simply enjoying watching the whole scene as it played out in front of her. Never in a million years did she picture this happening that she would be at a college party and actually enjoying herself.

Even if the music was terrible. Laughing to herself at the absurdity of it Beca listened to the blaringly loud chords of some top 40 song as it echoed in the amazing acoustics of the theater. Beca would have thought that people who spend their entire year practically obsessed with music would actually have better taste in music.

" What're you smiling about?" Accepting the offered cup from Chloe and taking a healthy sip before asking what was even in the cup Beca felt the alcohol burn all the way down to her stomach.

" Jesus, what is this?"

" Trust me, its better if you don't know." Chloe cautioned. All she knew about what was in the beverage was the collection of empty alcohol bottles that had been collected on the table next to the bowl. " Don't avoid the question. What are you smiling about?" Chloe repeated.

" The music."

" Terrible huh?"

" Kind of makes the DJ in me want to curl up and die." Beca replied honestly.

" You did amazing today." Chloe commented watching Beca blush, though she knew that if she called attention to it Beca would merely attribute the coloring of her cheeks to the alcohol or the cold night air around them.

" You did pretty well yourself. Though I'm not surprised." Things like that seemed to come naturally to Beca when she was with Chloe. She found herself complimenting instead of spitting snide comments, smiling instead of scowling, it was altogether unnerving and completely addicting.

" You're so sweet. So I have an idea, why don't we go back to your dorm and you can show me some good music." Chloe suggested looping her arms around Beca's waist.

" Don't you want to stay here and celebrate with the rest of the Bella's? I mean, this was kind of monumental we kicked the Treble's asses in the Riff-off."

" I know! Do you think their egos can handle having their asses handed to them twice in one year?"

" I think they'll survive."

" Come on, take me back to your room." Chloe said pulling Beca back towards Baker Hall. Beca didn't even bother trying to fight it, she knew Chloe was going to win anyway.

Beca's room was thankfully vacant when they got there, Kimmie Jin had taken the spending time at one of her friend's dorms, maybe a boyfriend. Whatever it was Beca didn't really care enough to ask when she did see her roommate. She was just glad that it meant she and Chloe could be alone. Walking into her living area towards her desk Beca pulled her chair out and spun it so that she could sit and face Chloe. Though the chivalrous thing to do would be to offer the seat to Chloe, Beca knew that Chloe preferred her bed as a sitting area.

" What kind of music are you in the mood for?" Beca asked curiously. She'd still not played any of her mixes for Chloe but she had a wide array of other music that could fill the silent room.

" Anything's fine. Maybe something that you mixed?" Chloe asked hopefully.

" One of my mixes?" Eloquent as always when it came to Chloe. Looking between Chloe and her computer.

" You don't have to. I know they mean a lot to you."

" Come here." Beca said holding her hand out to Chloe and waiting for her girlfriend to take it Beca ushered Chloe until the red head was sitting on her lap. The intimacy of the action took Chloe by surprise but then Beca turned them so that they were facing Beca's computer. It should have been awkward to have Chloe sitting on her lap but it wasn't. Beca kind of liked it actually. It felt natural.

Chloe watched as Beca opened her mixing program and saw the screen fill with things that Chloe had seen just glimpses of when she was at clubs but she didn't know the first thing about what they did. And yet Beca moved the mouse over them like it was second nature.

" I wanted to actually get a mixing table, that's where you get the truer sound. But digital is cheaper." Chloe listened as Beca went meticulously through what everything on the screen did and how it affected the sound. Even going so far as to let Chloe play with some of the features. It took a while for Chloe to realize why Beca was going this. She was showing Chloe what she did so that Chloe would fully appreciate what it was that she did.

When Beca opened up her files and Chloe saw that there were hundreds of them on Beca's Hard Drive she waited anxiously. Beca had a specific mix in mind that she wanted Chloe to hear. And then the music started to play and Chloe found herself instantly immersed in it. She understood in just a few second of listening to the music that Beca had made that Beca understood music, it made sense to her in ways that numbers did to mathematicians, or words to writers. They listened for what seemed like forever, and yet not long enough Beca watching Chloe's face as she listened. Smiling to herself when Chloe's eyes closed and her head began to bop to the beats. There was an authenticity to Chloe's expression that Beca didn't doubt that Chloe liked what she was hearing. And there was nothing that filled Beca with more pride and with more hope that she might actually make it in the music business than Chloe's approval of what she did.

" Beca this is amazing." Chloe whispered even though there was no reason why she needed to be whispering.

" Thanks." Beca replied bashfully. Chloe stood but before she moved out of Beca's reach completely she linked their hands and pulled Beca with her. Leading the brunette towards the bed and sitting down.

" Thank you for letting me listen to one of your mixes."

" I should have a long time ago. I just…have a fragile ego." Beca explained in the best way that she could. It wasn't entirely a lie, she would fight with nearly anyone about the awesomeness of her music. Because she knew that her mixes were good. But those people were usually the ones she didn't really care their opinions. Like her dad, she didn't care what he thought of her music. He didn't have to get it. But with Chloe, Beca wanted Chloe to like the music she made.

" Well you don't need to. Because you're great."

* * *

 

Pulling Chloe to her Beca pressed her lips hard against the older girls, she didn't often know the right words to say to express her emotions but kissing Chloe seemed like a pretty good way of showing just how much Chloe meant to her. Chloe met Beca's lips with equal if not more enthusiasm. Beca soon became worried she might actually spontaneously combust, when Chloe had pushed her back onto the bed Beca's head began to spin. It was all she could do to just continue breathing and not passing out, feeling the weight of Chloe's body on top of her own, Beca was sure there was no greater feeling in the entire world.

Sounds of pleasure began to fall from their mouths and neither of them knew who was making which sound, but it didn't matter. Each new sound fueled them both until they were spiraling quickly towards that precarious point that they had been cleverly avoiding for the time that they had been dating. Chloe said she would be patient and she planned to make very good on that promise. But when Beca arched into her _just so_ , or when Beca tugged on Chloe's bottom lip with her teeth ensuring their lips stayed fused together, she was patient but she wasn't a saint.

Burying her hands in Chloe's hair, keeping the older girls lips where they were Beca moaned softly against Chloe's lips as Chloe coaxed Beca's tongue into a playful duel for dominance. Beca didn't stand a chance. The things Chloe could do with her mouth, if she was this good of a kisser Beca could only imagine what other things she could do with her mouth. Just the thought of it made Beca buck suddenly against Chloe, tearing her lips away as an audible hiss tore from her lips Beca was sure she was dangerously close to combustion.

Chloe took this opportunity to attach her lips to the DJ's neck finding Beca's pulse point and pressing hot, open mouthed kisses against the tender skin she found there. Beca felt Chloe's fingers brush the hem of her tank top, daring to slide under just a little bit and tease the skin over Beca's hip bone.

" Is this okay?" Chloe whispered against Beca's neck before moving to claim Beca's lips again in a searing kiss that made Beca's toes curl.

" Mhm." Was all Beca could manage. Chloe knew that she wouldn't be able to push it much further. Anything more than where they were right now would send Beca up and across the dorm room as Chloe had discovered one night when, in the heat of the moment she had tried to slide her hand completely under Beca's shirt. She had grown attuned to Beca's body, more so than Beca herself sometimes. Chloe knew that she should probably stop, air on the side of caution. But she just wanted a few more minutes of feeling Beca beneath her, completely giving in just to the sensation of it all. And then she would stop.

" I'm sorry." Beca muttered unable to make eye contact with Chloe while she watched her girlfriend gather her things. For several long moments Chloe didn't say anything she just continued wandering around the room as if she were looking for something but she had all of her things already.

" Don't apologize. Really it's okay." Chloe insisted.

" But how long is it going to be okay for?" Beca asked. Chloe couldn't deny the fact that she was a bit agitated, and very, _very_ frustrated in more ways than one. She had taken more cold showers since starting her relationship with Beca that she was beginning to worry that they were losing their effectiveness.

" I just don't understand. You trust me right?"

" I do."

" Then what's the problem? I mean, I know you want me and I obviously want you. Do you think I'm going to hurt you?"

" Physically?" Beca asked the very thought of it preposterous.

" Emotionally." Chloe clarified needlessly.

" I don't trust anyone not to hurt me. The past has shown me that people are just going to hurt me so I don't give them the chance to. It's harder to get hurt if you keep people away emotionally and physically." Beca finished her explanation as Chloe processed what she had told her.

" And me? Do you think I'm one of those people?" Chloe knew she was asking an unfair question.

" I think you're going to destroy me." Beca whispered. Seeing the mixture of hurt, surprise, and confusion twisting Chloe's usually bright features Beca quickly went about explaining. " I wasn't lying when I said you had bypassed the walls that I spend most of my teenage years building. You're the first person who has bothered to even try. You make me feel things, want things that I had myself convinced I could never feel. And it's terrifying. I'm so scared I'm going to do something to mess this up or you're going to wake up one morning and realize you can do so much better than me. And I don't want to hurt like that.

" Sex complicates everything. I've seen it happen. What we have right now is great. I just don't want to fuck with it." Beca finished, looking at Chloe and hoping she would understand.

" I'm scared too Beca. I think that we're supposed to be. It means we care about each other. Where we differ is that I'm not going to let what ifs stop me from trying. Sex is a huge step, I'm not saying let's do it right now. When we do it'll be amazing and special and all the things it's supposed to be because it's the two of us. I'm just asking you to work with me here. Slow, one step at a time. Kay?"

" Okay." Beca nodded reaching out for Chloe. " Wanna cuddle?"

" You hate cuddling."

" But you don't. Baby steps right?"

* * *

 

A few days later Beca found herself sitting across the table from her father, having what could only be described as an awkwardly silent dinner. He was trying though, and Beca was trying not to not be such a sarcastic brat. So they set up dinners that they would do on a semi-regular basis and they would attempt to repair the fractured nature of their relationship.

" So am I paying for you to go to LA?" Warren asked thinking he was asking his daughter a casual question.

" What?"

" We had a deal and you upheld your end of it. So I am prepared to uphold mine." Beca looked at her dad convinced he was about to sprout a second head or something.

" Really?"

" Yeah. If that's still what you want."

" It is." Beca answered quickly.

" But?"

" But…I need to think about it." Beca could barely believe the words as they passed through her lips. Think about it? What was there to think about? Here was her life's dream being offered to her on a silver platter and she wanted to _think_ about it? After that Beca didn't really remember much about dinner.

When Beca got back to her dorm room she was barely paying attention to the world around her. Less than a year ago everything had been so clear. Her stomach twisted in painful knots of doubt with endless questions nearly splitting her head open. She had come to Barden with the goal of getting the year over with and then going to LA to live her dream. And then everything had turned on its ass. The Bella's. The group of insane women that had wormed their way into Beca's heart and became the closest, most dysfunctional family that she'd ever known. And there was Jesse who in a way had become her best friend.

And Chloe.

Chloe had been the biggest surprise of all. Offering Beca love and affection, everything Beca had been so sure she didn't want or need. But was that worth giving up on LA? Could she stay at Barden because it meant that she would only be six states away from Chloe instead of across the country? Sitting down at her computer Beca slid on her head phones and opened some of her music files. Music would help her think it through. At least Beca hoped it would.

Hours later Beca was startled awake when her phone vibrated and it shook her entire desk. Shaking the sleep from her head as well as some of the residual panic from being awoken so suddenly Beca grabbed her phone.

" 'Ello?" Beca grumbled.

" There you are! I've been texting you for like an hour!" hearing Chloe's voice ring through the phone and the worry that came along with it Beca groaned. Remembering she was supposed to have gone over to Chloe's after her dinner with her dad. Chloe had offered, knowing how little Beca enjoyed those sorts of things.

" Aw man Chloe I'm sorry. I totally spaced and came back to mine and fell asleep." Beca said genuinely apologetic.

" I figured. It's okay. How did everything go?" Chloe asked. It always amazed Beca how Chloe never seemed to stay angry for long. Even after all that had happened the previous year. Beca had seen Chloe get mad but she never stayed that way for long.

" It was the usual. He uh…asked me about LA." Beca said. There was a long pause on the other line and Beca began to worry that Chloe had hung up on her.

" Oh." Was all Chloe said after what felt like forever.

" That's it? That's all you have to say?"

" What do you want me to say?" Chloe asked even more hesitantly.

" I don't know. I'm exhausted, can we talk tomorrow?"

" Beca…" Chloe stopped herself. She knew how much her music meant to her girlfriend. And she also knew that Beca would close off if she pushed too far. " Good night."

* * *

 

Looking down at her now darkened cell phone screen Beca turned back to her computer. She spent the rest of the night mixing. Filling an 8 GB flash drive with music, seeing the sky turn light. Yawning Beca closed her mixing program and curled into bed. If anything she felt tired and oddly calmer but no less uncertain about what to do about LA. It was within her grasp now. She could go guilt free. With the blessing of her dad, and some of his money too. Why wasn't she taking that and running? Hearing her phone buzz Beca glanced down at it wondering who would be crazy enough to text her at the ungodly hour of five AM.

 _I can't sleep._ _-_ Beca smiled, seeing Chloe's name on her phone.

 _It helps if you close your eyes. –_ Beca replied.

_Why are you awake?_

_I dunno_

_Come meet me._

_Where? Now?_

_On the Quad. We can watch the sunrise together._ Looking outside again, seeing the faint fog that held the campus encapsulated. The way the cold mixture of wet air and inhumanely cold air had formed ice on each individual blade of grass. And it was so like Chloe to want to go and enjoy the moment of it.

_I'll bring the blankets_

Beca met Chloe next to the fountain as they had agreed. Beca held her blanket in her arms. The one that Chloe seemed to like so much, whenever they were in her room Chloe would use that to wrap herself up. The sun was already dancing towards the horizon as they settled. Most people would expect that Chloe would be the big spoon, except that whenever they were laying down it was always Beca that would have her arms around Chloe. Chloe had asked her why that was once, Beca had only shrugged and joked that it was easier to escape that way.

" I don't want to fight again." Chloe said finally once the sun had long risen.

" Were we fighting?" Beca asked looking down at Chloe and seeing Chloe look back towards her.

" You lied to me. You weren't exhausted. You've been up all night." Chloe said leaning against Beca's chest. She should have been angry that Beca had lied to her but she wasn't, mostly because she knew that there had to be a good reason for it. She knew she had to be patient with Beca and trust that the brunette would tell her what she was thinking in her own time.

" How do you do that?" Beca asked trying to be irritated but the words came out in a sort of pathetic whine that frustrated Beca more.

" You've been thinking about LA." Chloe continued, not answering Beca's question because she was sure that it was mostly rhetorical.

" I…"

" Do you want to go?" Beca gently nudged at Chloe for the red head to sit up. She wanted to look at Chloe when they had this conversation. Words could lie, often times they did in Beca's experience. Even if they were meant to be comforting or placating the only way to truly know the truth was to look into someone's eyes when they spoke. Beca trusted that Chloe wouldn't lie to her, but she still needed to see it.

" It's my dream. Always has been since I could remember."

" Then you should go. It's your dream." Beca felt a nagging ache consume the entirety of her chest. Part of her wanted so desperately to take what Chloe was offering. Chloe was telling her to go. Even if Beca knew that it was a lie. Chloe couldn't really blame Beca for wanting to go. She was leaving too. But Georgia was a lot closer than LA. It would be easier for weekend visits and they would at least be on the same time zone.

" Let's not talk about it now."

" We have to talk about it Bec. Because it's happening. And pretending it isn't will only make it harder." Chloe insisted. " I'm leaving for New York." Chloe stated as if it were some big confession that Beca hadn't heard before. But she wanted Beca to acknowledge it. Beca hadn't said anything about it since the very first time Chloe had mentioned it.

" I know that."

" What is that going to be like for our relationship?" Their relationship was so young and they were still trying to figure things out. The idea that they would have to do that while being over a thousand miles away from each other was terrifying.

" Long distance relationships don't work Chloe." Beca argued.

" This one might." Chloe said a hint of her usual optimism shining through the gloom.

" Everyone says that. And then life happens and you'll have work and new friends and every guy in New York banging down your door." Beca elaborated.

" Every guy? I think that's a big of an exaggeration." Chloe said.

" Clearly you haven't looked in the mirror lately."

" So what if they do? I have you. I don't need nor want them. There will be many Skype dates and phone calls. You can always come visit me on holidays and long weekends. I'll come here when I can. Beca we can make this work if we try." Chloe searched Beca's eyes for a glimmer of hope she was desperate to see. That Beca was willing, even if it was a shadow of hope, it was still something.

" Make me a deal." Beca said finally, looking down at her hands for a moment trying to collect her thoughts. Fidgeting with the edge of the blanket until Chloe's hand covered her own.

" Okay."

" Hear me out first. Your friendship, having you in my life is often times the only sanity that I have. If this doesn't work out. Even if you want to try and see other people. We stop this and go back to being friends." Beca said. Her words betrayed the difficulty of doing such a thing. It wouldn't be as simple as that and they both knew it. But as far as Chloe was concerned that would never happen.

" Deal."

" I mean I Chloe."

" I know. So do i."

" There, conversation done." Beca said with a her trademark smirk.

" What about LA?"

" Would be kind of pointless. I'm not old enough to DJ in any of the clubs." Beca said with a shrug. Chloe often forgot how young Beca was.

" That's right, I'm robbing the cradle." Chloe teased. Chloe settled back into Beca's arms and continued to watch the sky grow lighter.

" Yup. Corrupting the young." Beca replied softly nuzzling against Chloe's neck softly unable to fight the urge to be closer to Chloe.

* * *

 

Days slowly blended into weeks, when not in classes Beca was at the station or with Chloe. It didn't feel like it had been that long until finally it was brought to Beca's attention that it was coming up on her and Chloe's one month anniversary. Something that Beca had initially rolled her eyes at, who celebrates one month? But apparently that was a thing, yet another small detail of relationships that Beca probably wouldn't ever understand.

" Do we have to do this every month?" Beca asked while she raided her closet looking for something to wear. She had taken Jesse's advice and told Chloe that she hadn't forgotten about their one month anniversary and that she had something special planned for them. It was partially true, she had managed to get reservations at a nice restaurant to celebrate. The gift that she had in mind was pretty simple, and Chloe probably would think that it was lame. Beca had spent the last few nights working non-stop on a mix dedicated to Chloe. Cliché and overly cheesy but it was from the heart.

" Of course you don't do this every month. This is like…a semi test of how serious you are about Chloe. Think about it this way, at the beginning of a relationship is when you're supposed to be the most…infatuated. You do this at the first month, then the six months, and then you go to yearly. Make sense?" Jesse tried to explain, it had been a bit sad at first when he realized just how much help Beca was going to need with the whole relationship thing. But once he had wrapped his mind around it he sought out to be the best tutor in romance as he could be.

" But their called _anniversaries!_ That implies yearly."

" You're still missing the point. It's okay, just take it like this. It's important to Chloe and if you want to make her happy then you'll do this."

" Okay fine." Beca said exasperated.

Driving into Atlanta Beca sweet talked Chloe into letting her drive, otherwise it would ruin the surprise of where they were going. It wasn't really a surprise but there was something weird about planning the date, and treating Chloe to a night on the town and not driving. They had just merged onto the freeway when Beca felt Chloe's hand on top of hers and Chloe's fingers snake in between her own.

" I didn't think that you believed in one month anniversaries." Chloe commented. When Beca had initially mentioned it she had been surprised. Beca wasn't known for her romanticism.

" I don't. But you do. And that is good enough for me."

" You're sweet."

" I just have to treat my lady right." Beca replied her playful smirk prompting Chloe to laugh.

" Well you are definitely doing a good job."

It was really true. In all the scenarios Chloe had thought of when she and Beca had begun their relationship she had never imagined that Beca would be as good at wooing her as she was. And the best part was that Beca didn't even know she was doing it. Chloe had been with guys that had done all the right things, flowers, cute cards, opening doors, the works, and the things girls swoon for. And she had enjoyed it at the time. But there was nothing that could properly explain how Chloe felt when Beca did things like that for her. Bringing her a single flower was more special than an entire bouquet of roses.

" You deserve to be treated like a princess Chloe." Beca said suddenly. The suddenness of her statement made it sound slightly awkward but Chloe knew that it was simply because Beca was trying to muster the courage to say something. Chloe looked at her girlfriends profile, Beca kept her eyes trained on the road before her, and had she not been driving Chloe would have pulled Beca into a searing kiss.

When Beca pulled into a parking spot, the moment that the car was in park Chloe practically lunged at Beca. Crashing their lips together with passion that had only been amplified by the minutes she had to wait to kiss her girlfriend. Beca squeaked at the surprise of the kiss. Regardless Beca returned the kiss quickly, parting her lips for Chloe's insistent tongue and swallowing a moan as Chloe's tongue ran teasingly over the roof of her mouth.

" What…was that for?" Beca gasped when their kiss ended.

" You being wonderful." Chloe answered with a sweet smile and opening the door and stepping out. Beca took a moment to collect herself before she followed Chloe out of the car and into the restaurant.

Dinner passed with fun conversation mostly about the other Bella's and Aubrey. There was never any shortage of things to talk about between them, it was something that Beca rejoiced in. She had always feared the awkward silences when couples ran out of things to talk about. Before her parents' divorce there were many dinners that were spent in near suffocating silence because her parents had run out of things to talk about. But instead they talked about this and that, small things and big things it didn't matter.

" I uh…have this for you." Beca said while they were sitting after their plates had been cleared. She reached into her pocket and held out the flash drive for Chloe. She expected to see disappointment or something in Chloe's eyes that might show that she had messed up. Instead what she saw was an outpouring of pride and delight at what she was being offered.

" Is it a mix?"

" I made it for you, all the songs on here remind me of you in some way." Beca explained watching Chloe take the small device and look at it as if it were made of pure diamond or something.

" Thank you." Chloe whispered her eyes shining with newly formed tears. Beca's eyes widened not expecting her gift to make her girlfriend cry.

" I didn't mean to make you cry." Beca said panicked.

" Happy tears babe." Chloe replied.

" Are you sure?"

" This is the best gift I've ever been given by someone I was dating. Something you made for me, specifically for me. There isn't another one of these in the world and that makes it priceless. And wonderful." Chloe replied with the smile that could truly make Beca's heart do flip flops in her chest.

" I'm glad you like it."

" I have this for you. I really didn't know what to get you." Chloe said holding out the small box across the table to Beca. Beca took the box and slowly opened it, when she saw what was inside she couldn't contain the gasp that slipped from her lips. " I knew how much you liked bracelets."

Beca lifted the bracelet out of the box to look at it closer, it was really one long bracelet coiled around itself. It was beautiful, black leather holding silver chain and gems in place.

" It's beautiful." Beca said while holding it out to Chloe silently asking her to help her put it on. Once the bracelet was on the two admired the way it looked on Beca's wrist. " Thank you."

" You're welcome."

The night finished like a dream, they got back to campus and Beca walked Chloe to her dorm room. Standing outside Chloe's door in the narrow abandoned hallway Beca reached forward, her fingers resting on the curve of Chloe's waist. It was out of sheer need to touch Chloe, Beca couldn't explain it any better than that. With Chloe so close to her she couldn't help but touch her in some way.

" Do you want to come in? Maybe cuddle a little. I just don't want tonight to end." Chloe said with an inviting smile.

" Sure."

Chloe's dorm room had become in many ways a second home to Beca, though as of late the place that caused Beca the most turmoil. There wasn't a time that they spent in Chloe's bed room that didn't somehow turn into a heated make out session, even if Beca went to study it didn't stop them. And Beca knew why, they wanted each other. They were rapidly approaching that fine line, and it was getting harder and harder for Beca to keep pushing Chloe away. She wasn't even sure why she was anymore.

" We don't have to do anything Beca. Just cuddle and maybe listen to some music." Music had been the alternative to watching a movie.

" I know. But being close to you is getting harder without wanting to…you know." Beca blushed. She couldn't even say it. How could she do it, if she couldn't even have a conversation about it?

" I'm kind of glad that I'm not the only one." Chloe said with a sheepish laugh. Sometimes she felt like a horny teenager around Beca.

" Trust me, you are not the only one that is beginning to have trouble controlling herself."

" So…would it be worth discussing the uh…when?" Chloe asked uncharacteristically nervous.

" Don't you think that planning it might put too much pressure on it? I mean, shouldn't we just let it happen naturally?" Beca asked finally sitting down next to Chloe.

" Yeah it should. But also, it should be something that we intend to do because it's special. It should be something that you plan because it should be memorable. I don't mean we look on the calendar and pick a date to do it. But it should be special."

" Why is it that you are more concerned about me losing my virginity than I am?" Beca asked with a quirked eyebrow and a playful grin. She thought it was sweet how much Chloe cared but she wished sometimes that things could just happen naturally, and not force it. The idea of planning it, like it was some sort of event made Beca uncomfortable in ways she knew she wouldn't be able to explain.

" Because it's important."

" Why?"

" It just is. You don't think about it now, but trust me when it happens and years from now if it wasn't special you'll look back and wish that it was." Beca could tell that there was a story behind Chloe's statement.

" What was your first time like?" Beca asked knowing that Chloe would tell her. It was one of the things Beca liked most about Chloe, the way that her own introverted side was offset by Chloe's openness about pretty much everything.

" Rushed, messy, painful, everyone was doing it at the time so I thought if I wanted to fit in with my friends then I had to do it too." Chloe answered.

" I'm sorry."

" The point is Beca, I want your first time to be special because mine wasn't."

" Okay." Beca reached for something on Chloe's desk that for a moment was obscured from Chloe's sight. And then when she saw it she couldn't contain the laughter that escaped. Beca had grabbed her schedule book and was holding it out to her.

_a few weeks later_

Nerves were slowly eating Beca alive, she was sure of it. Glancing at the clock on her nightstand for what was probably the hundredth time she found that only a few minutes had passed since the last time she looked. Chloe would be by any minute to pick her up, and they would go into the city where they would be staying at a hotel. A freakin' hotel! Beca had told Chloe that she was being ridiculous. But her girlfriend had insisted that she wanted to take control of the night so Beca was just to let Chloe do her thing and if there was anything Beca needed to know about then Chloe would tell her. It was cheesy, and cliché and all sorts of things that Beca was not but she still couldn't help but be excited and anxious about it.

Finally when there was a faint knock on her door Beca opened it to reveal her girlfriend looking gorgeous as always.

" Hey." Beca greeted grabbing her bag.

" Hey, you ready to go?"

" Yeah I am."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five – Present Day**

" I don't understand. What exactly are you saying?" Beca asked in a hushed voice, though it was no less firm as she pinned Chloe's doctor with an icy stare. The doctor had been in to examine Chloe and had pulled Beca out of the room upon her retreat.

" I'm saying that I'm concerned that Chloe's labor isn't progressing. Both she and the baby are fine now. But that can change very quickly." Dr. Bradley explained.

" Meaning?"

" Meaning it might be worth discussing a C-section. To avoid needing an emergency one later."

Beca rubbed her temples, taking slow deliberate breathes. This was not supposed to happen. Chloe had made it sound so ideal when they talked about it. The word 'complication' hadn't ever entered the conversation.

" She doesn't want a C-section." Beca said.

" No one wants one Beca. And I'm not saying that we need to decide that now. Just talk to her, if there isn't adequate progress in the coming hours it could put the baby at risk. Chloe too."

" What do I do?" Beca asked her voice sounding so small. Dr. Bradley had to hand it to Beca, she had seen many husbands and spouses older than Beca handle this decision a lot worse than Beca was. Somehow Beca seemed to be holding it together.

" Talk to your wife."

" I could lose them both couldn't I?" Beca asked. Dr. Bradley hesitated, she didn't like thinking about it, modern medicine was supposed to make the odds of death so minute. But it happened, and each time was as difficult as the very first.

" Don't think about that right now."

" But it's possible. I could lose Chloe."

" It's possible."

" Jesus."

" Are you going to be okay?" The shorter brunette looked like she might be on the verge of passing out.

" Okay? I'm so far from it. I just need a minute please." Beca said. Once alone in the hallway Beca doubled over, leaning against the wall. This was not supposed to be happening. How could this be happening? How was she supposed to make these decisions? She wasn't ready to think about the possibilities of losing Chloe or their baby. Their _son._

" Beca? Beca!" Feeling arms wrap around her Beca didn't really know who it was that was holding her. She just crumbled into them. " What did the doctor say?" It was Aubrey. Aubrey had watched Beca nearly collapse and couldn't get to the brunette quick enough. To see the usually stoic DJ crumble so completely filled Aubrey with a fear she hadn't allowed herself to feel.

" They are concerned with how long it's taking." Beca said finally.

" Come on Beca, you know Chloe. She's strong. She's a fighter."

" She won't be if it continues on like this. You see her in there. How do you think she's going to be in a couple of hours when nothing's happening except for the fact that she is in pain? She's exhausted. What do you think is going to happen when the hard work begins?" Beca didn't doubt her wife's strength. Chloe had more determination and will than anyone Beca knew but there was only so far that would carry her.

" She'll be okay Beca."

" What if she isn't? I can't do this without her."

" And you won't. Your baby is going to be born and you and Chloe are going to raise him and be that obnoxiously adorable family we all love to hate."

" You don't know that." Beca argued. Her mind taking her to places she really didn't want to go.

" No one knows. But seriously Beca, you need to be strong for Chloe. She's scared too."

" Strong for Chloe." Beca repeated.

" Strong for your wife."

" Okay."

" Okay. Let's go back in there."

Beca stood next to Chloe, for the first time the redhead looked like she might actually be sleeping. Her features were relaxed and she didn't look like she was nearly as uncomfortable as Beca guessed she was. Chloe's parents had all but been camped out in the chairs in the corner of Chloe's room, Victor playing on his phone to keep his mind busy while Barbara kept vigil over Chloe. The kind of vigil mom's usually adopted when their kids were sick.

" Hey." Chloe whispered feeling Beca run her fingers through her hair. " What did the doctor want?"

" You were supposed to be sleeping." Beca deflected.

" I was. Doesn't mean I don't know you went out to talk to her. Tell me." Beca bit her lip, melting under Chloe's insisted gaze. Beca saw that both Barbara and Victor were now paying very close attention.

" She thinks that we should consider a C-section."

" No." Chloe said instantly, barely allowing Beca to finish her sentence."

" Chlo…"

" No. I'm not going to do a C-section. I'm fine." Chloe said her usual spark and zeal present if even for a minute.

" I know you are. But that can change." Beca argued trying to keep her voice even. She knew that they had talked about it. She didn't understand how Chloe could be so stubborn, this wasn't just a hypothetical anymore, it might not be a choice anymore and Chloe was taking a chance that could risk more than Beca was willing to lose.

" We can talk about it if things change. You know how I feel about having a C-section." Beca knew very well. The two had what was probably their biggest fight in the history of their relationship about it. Though Beca blamed the hormones and Chloe had apologized for kicking Beca out for almost an entire weekend.

" What if something happens?"

" Nothing is going to happen. He's just being stubborn like you." Chloe insisted playfully trying to dissolve the tension that was very quickly consuming the room.

" You can't even put that one on me. That stubbornness is all you."

" Are you implying I'm stubborn?" Chloe questioned.

" Babe, do you remember the early years of our relationship?"

" Point taken. I don't want a C-section Bec."

" Hopefully it won't come to that."

**8 years ago**

Beca was trying not to let her nerves get the better of her but she didn't do nervous well. Some people could laugh off their discomfort, cover it with confidence or whatever. Beca tended to withdraw into herself. But she was trying really hard not to let her nervousness bring down the start of their weekend together. Chloe was driving them into the city, one of Beca's mixes playing softly through the car stereo.

" Are you okay?" Chloe asked finally. Beca was often times quiet, lost in her own thoughts or working out a mix in her mind before she began to create it. But this time Chloe could tell there was something else going on.

" I'm nervous." Beca answered honestly. Even that seemed uncharacteristic. Beca hated confessing her emotions, it made her feel weak.

" Don't be. I know what this weekend implies. But nothing is going to happen that you don't feel completely comfortable with. If that means we spend the entire weekend cuddling and watching movies. That's what we do." Chloe replied casually.

" Why are you so good to me?" Beca questioned. She figured she would be asking that question a lot during their relationship. She would never understand what Chloe saw in her, or why Chloe put up with all the baggage she brought to the relationship.

" Cuz you're pretty." Chloe answered playfully. Glad when she heard Beca laugh.

" This is true." Beca looked at Chloe, watching the redhead as she drove. The music that filled the car was a pleasant distraction from everything else. Conversation flowed easily, or rather when there was conversation. Silence wasn't uncommon when they hung out, whether it be listening to music or just allowing the silence to linger. It was one of the things Chloe loved most about their relationship, the general ease of it no matter what they were doing.

" We're staying here?" Beca asked awe supplanting any sarcasm that she might normally have called upon. When Chloe had mentioned hotel Beca didn't think that Chloe meant one of the best in Atlanta.

" Don't worry, the manager is a friend of the family." Chloe answered handing her keys to the valet as their bags were taken from her trunk. The lobby was large and elegant, reminding Beca of a hotel from the 1920's with all the glitz and glamour of back then. The marble floors reflected the soft glow coming from the chandelier filling the room with light.

" Chloe Beale as I live and breathe." Beca's gaze shot to the man that was coming towards them quickly, his arms outstretched as he went to wrap his arms around Chloe. It was obvious that there was a familiarity between them, this must have been the family friend Chloe was talking about.

" Hey Uncle Frank." Hugging the man that was a staple at her family's dinner table on most major holidays. Frank and her father went to college together so she had been raised to think of him as almost an uncle.

" And this must be Beca." Frank said turning to Beca with a smile. He wasn't naïve, he knew exactly what the girls were there for. But he didn't mind, and he certainly wasn't going to be the one to tell Chloe's parents about it either.

" Hi." Beca said awkwardly.

" Here is your room key. Call down if you girls want anything. On the house of course."

" Thanks!" Chloe said leading Beca towards the elevator. Once the door closed Beca was sure she was blushing as bright red as Chloe's hair. Some man that she didn't even know now knew that she was there to have sex with her girlfriend. Worse it was someone that Chloe was pretty close to from the looks of it.

" Oh my God, he totally knows."

" Of course he does! When I called him to ask he sort of figured it out."

" This is so embarrassing."

" Why?"

" Because your 'uncle' knows we're here to have sex." Beca hissed. Chloe laughed remembering Beca's usual need for secrecy about everything Beca seemed to forget that they were pretty open about their relationship.

" Beca, I think they would have figured it out." Chloe said when the elevator door opened.

" Probably." Beca relented. There was no point in fighting Chloe on it.

Opening the door Chloe held them open for Beca and watched as her girlfriend walked into the large suite. Leaning against the entry way wall enjoying watching Beca explore the room. The foyer opened up into a living room of sorts, with a couch and a TV it looked more like an apartment than a hotel room. To their left was the bedroom Chloe knew loosely what the bedroom would look like but followed Beca when she walked through the bedroom door.

" This is ridiculous." Beca explained. The King sized bed with a cream colored down comforter and red wine colored sheets being the center piece of the bedroom. Chloe knew that she had to tip toe the line of nice and too nice otherwise Beca would freak out.

" You like?"

" How did you…I mean this is really nice Chloe." Beca said finally looking at the redhead.

" What can I say, I like to spoil you every now and then." Beca crossed the length of the room and stood in front of Chloe, her smile the only thing Chloe needed to know that she had succeeded.

" Chloe I…" Beca stopped. The words staying on her tongue like they were weighted down. Three words had never seemed so impossible to say.

" It's okay." Chloe whispered running her fingers through Beca's hair. As much as she wanted so desperately to hear the words Beca didn't need to say them for Chloe to know that she felt them. Beca showed Chloe that she loved her in actions and deeds that meant more than words.

" I've never said it before. It's like…I know the words but my mouth doesn't know how to say them. Does that make any sense?" Beca asked helplessly.

" It does. It's a little sad though. You've never said it?" Chloe asked. Growing up she must have heard " I love you" at least a dozen times a day.

" Never had a reason too." Chloe knew better then to push the subject.

" So, what do you want to do now?" Chloe asked crawling on the bed and looking back at Beca.

" Okay, you can't ask me that question and then get on the bed. Because that just sends my mind into a very dirty place." Beca said shoving her hands into her pocket.

" There's nothing wrong with that." Chloe replied her smile barely contained.

" Are you trying to seduce me Ms. Beale?" Chloe gave Beca her best seductive smile and nodded. Beca inhaled a shuttering breath and swallowed. Suddenly it was getting very hot in the bedroom.

" Maybe, come here." Chloe requested holding her hand out for Beca to take. When Beca got to the edge of the bed Chloe sat up and got to her knees so that she and Beca were almost eye level. Keeping her eyes trained on Beca, Chloe slowly eased the zipper of Beca's hoodie down revealing the low cut tank top Beca was wearing. " You're beautiful." Chloe said looking down along the silky skin of Beca's neck to her shoulder, down and down until she saw Beca's cleavage.

Chloe saw out of the corner of her vision that Beca was biting her bottom lip. A clear indication that she was uncomfortable under the amount of attention Chloe was spending on her. But she made no attempt to stop Chloe. In fact she even rolled her shoulders allowing the hoodie to fall to the floor with a soft thud.

An audible gasp escaped Beca's lips when Chloe could no longer stand it and leaned forward, pressing her lips to Beca's neck. Feeling the heated skin under her lips Chloe smiled, her smile only growing when she felt Beca's hands go to her hair.

They may have stayed that way for hours, or just moments. Time had no meaning to either of them when they stood entangled the way that they were. Still, when Chloe slid backward Chloe pulled Beca onto the bed with her. Careful not to get too close too quickly. But if Beca was anywhere near the same level of arousal as Chloe, the red head guessed standing was going to become difficult soon.

Finally it was Beca who brought their lips together, seeking the familiarity, the comfort, and all the other amazing things Chloe's kisses always provided. It took the nervousness away, it gave Beca something to focus on aside from how she was no nervous she was afraid she might hyperventilate. Calm came when she felt Chloe return her kiss. Not a hard, passion filled kiss but a slow and soft, deeply loving kiss that Beca wanted to have last forever. Chloe's arm circled Beca's waist and with strength that really shouldn't have surprised Beca given the brutality of Bella's rehearsals, shifting them so that Beca was laying on her back Chloe poised above her.

The sudden closeness prompted a moan from one or both of them, neither knew nor cared who it came from Chloe's tongue swept into Beca's mouth teasing and coaxing Beca's tongue into a playful dance. Really, the things Chloe could do with her mouth made Beca squirm. Beca whimpered when Chloe moved her leg over Beca's hips effectively straddling the younger girl. It wasn't a position Beca was unfamiliar with, it was one of Chloe's favorites during their make out sessions. But this time Chloe pressed her lips down _just so_ adding a delightful amount of friction just where Beca wanted it.

Pulling her lips away from Beca's when she felt the brunette arch against her, jerking her hips against her Chloe's breath caught. This make out session was quickly spiraling out of Chloe's control.

" Beca…" Chloe started, but was unable to finish her statement or even remember it for that matter when Beca pulled her hips down. " God!"

Sitting up to try and allow some semblance of rational thought return to her brain Chloe was surprised that Beca followed her. Sitting up the remain close to Chloe, now her lips attacked Chloe's neck.

" What's the matter?" Beca asked against the skin of Chloe's neck nipping at the skin she found there.

" You just…feel so good." Chloe groaned bunching the material of Beca's tank top in her fist her knuckles her grazing the heated skin below.

" And that's bad?"

" No. It's just so easy for me to lose myself in you. It's hard to remember to go slow." Beca looked up at Chloe, her inexperience showing only in her eyes.

" I don't really know what I'm doing."

" Trust me. You are doing just fine." Feeling Beca palm the curve of her hip keeping her pressed down so that the pressure was there for both girls.

" I want to know how to please you Chloe." Beca said in the most heartfelt way Chloe had ever heard. It was slowly dawning on Chloe that this was what Beca needed. What would make Beca feel the most comfortable. Intimacy scared the Hell out of Beca, but if she focused just on making Chloe feel good then it was a way of slowly easing into it.

Reaching for one of Beca's hands, her left since she knew the brunette was left handed, she made sure to keep her eyes on Beca despite the fact that Beca's attention was on their now joint hand to her chest. Beca had always been good at keeping her hands in neutral places. She'd never once tried to touch Chloe's chest while they were making out. Feeling Beca's hand cup her breast, hand tentative, but firm Chloe's eyes shut just for the briefest of moments. It turned out Beca was a quick study as she began to softly knead Chloe through her shirt and bra. Chloe's breath quickening with each touch as it sent sparks of arousal straight down to where she was firmly pressed against Beca.

Beca felt Chloe's soft flesh in the palm of her hand and was fascinated by it. Chloe had an amazing body in general but Beca had spent many Bella's practices admiring more than Chloe's singing voice. Now she could touch, taste if she wanted to. Which she was quickly discovering she wanted more than anything she'd ever wanted before. And there were two things in her way. Chloe's top and the bra she wore underneath.

" Can I?" Beca asked nodding towards the shirt Chloe was wearing. Chloe nodded wordlessly. Beca had never undressed or helped someone undress before and it was proving to be a little bit more complicated. Finally Chloe took pity on her and removed her shirt revealing what Beca was sure was the most breathtaking sight Beca had ever seen.

Sure, she'd technically seen Chloe naked before but that was before and she had spent more time concerned with the fact that she was naked then the state of the redhead's body.

" Wow." Beca whispered looking Chloe up and down. Down over the swell of her breasts as they were perfectly accentuated by the black lace bra Chloe wore. Her hands continuing down Chloe's toned stomach, feeling the muscles there quiver under her touch.

Pressing her lips against the sun kissed skin Beca felt Chloe's heart racing under her lips. Using the tip of her tongue, running it down Chloe's collar bone to just the top of Chloe's breast, smirking her trademark smirk when Chloe arched into her. Feeling the soft lace under her lips when she first began to place kisses over Chloe's skin Beca wasn't expecting Chloe to grab her by the hair and pull her into a deep, passion filled, demanding kiss. While she was enjoying exploring, finding which places made Chloe moan and squirm. Chloe was as close to losing her mind as was possible.

" Bec, I really think you are a tad overdressed." Chloe mumbled pulling at Beca's tank top until it was over Beca's head and somewhere across the room. Surprisingly Beca didn't attempt to cover herself up and Chloe was really glad that she didn't. It gave Chloe time to properly appreciate her girlfriend's body. Beca hid under layers,, had Chloe not already seen her in the shower (yes, she stole glances) she might have wondered what really was under all her clothes.

They didn't rush. Everything happened when it seemed right for it to. Chloe was sure if she looked at the clock it would have been an hour and a half until she was able to get Beca just in her underwear. And if Chloe was completely honest Beca was entirely too sexy in just her underwear. She didn't wear anything extravagant, it would just have seemed to unlike Beca to be wearing lingerie. Instead she wore just a simple black bra and a pair of black boy shorts. It was definitely worth the wait.

Taking a chance Chloe ran her hand along the inside of Beca's thigh, close enough to Beca's knee. To not seem invasive. Hey had stopped kissing for the time being instead they kept their faces close and just watched each other. Occasionally Chloe would press a reassuring kiss to Beca's lips. Chloe was pleasantly surprised when instead of tensing up Beca only moved her legs further apart allowing Chloe better access. And the ability to settle between Beca's legs.

" Is this okay?" Chloe asked watching Beca's face for any sign of doubt. Beca nodded, a short and jerking motion but Chloe didn't question it. She wanted to touch Beca. She needed it. It was an actual physical need to be closer. Taking in the softness of Beca's skin Chloe slowed when she reached the spot where Beca's thigh met her hip. Beca was barely breathing at this point, and Chloe was slightly worried that Beca might pass out. " Breathe baby." Chloe waited until she felt Beca exhale the breath she had been holding and inhale again.

Continuing on until she felt the fabric of Beca's boy shorts Chloe smirked, feeling that Beca was indeed on the same level of arousal as she was. When Chloe first touched Beca she felt Beca's entire body tense. Her hand stilled, fully prepared to stop if Beca asked her too. And then Beca nodded, it was a slow nod that gave Chloe permission to continue on. Her caresses were gentle at first and through the fabric of Beca's underwear, more exploratory than determined. After a few minutes Chloe felt Beca's hips begin to move against her hand, subtle moves at first and then more pronounced movements. Looking down at Beca, Chloe saw Beca watching her with eyes wide and darkened with arousal.

" Can I take these off?" Chloe asked tugging at Beca's underwear. Not trusting her voice Beca could only nod though she wasn't sure if she regretted the decision when Chloe stopped touching her. Chloe sat up on her knees and helped Beca out of her underwear until she lay before Chloe in nothing but her bra.

Allowing her eyes to feast on the sight of her girlfriend she didn't have to say anything for Beca to know that Chloe thought she was beautiful. Though every self-conscious thought commanded she try and cover herself up Beca remained where she was. Falling back against Beca Chloe brought their lips together in a tender, reassuring kiss. And then Chloe touched Beca again and Beca couldn't breathe, never had a single touch made her feel so incredible and so out of control at the same time. Beca had never been comfortable with the whole sex thing. She wasn't exactly a prude, but she barely touched herself. The idea that now Chloe was touching her, sent her head spinning.

" You're overthinking. Just let yourself feel." Chloe whispered, going mainly on touch Chloe wanted to watch Beca's reaction to being touched. She wanted to memorize everything about this moment.

" It feels good." Beca replied gasping when Chloe's fingers traced the length of her. Slowly rubbing in small circles and then intricate designs that were quite obviously affecting Beca, Beca's eyes closed tightly her lip ensnared between her teeth.

When Chloe entered her Beca lost the ability to think, all she could do was feel. Feel and react. Her breath coming in short gasps, and the _sounds_ , the sounds alone were enough to be Chloe's undoing. Beca made the sweetest, and the most seductive sounds. Chloe kept her movements slow, she didn't want to overwhelm Beca, though from the way that Beca was writhing beneath her, desperate for Chloe to touch her more. Clutching desperately at the sheets, twirling them in her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white, with her other hand Beca reached for Chloe. Cupping the redhead's face in her hand, the contact keeping her grounded, connected with her girlfriend. She just wanted to get closer to Chloe. They were as close as two people could get and still Beca wanted to be closer.

" Chloe." Beca moaned a thin layer of perspiration forming on her skin as Chloe began to speed up her movements. Chloe couldn't help feeling proud that she was getting to see Beca come undone like this. Beca's tough exterior was quickly fading, replaced by the sensations that were washing over her. Chloe could tell that Beca was approaching her climax when the brunette's movements became more unrestrained, Beca's hips jerking in time with the rhythm Chloe set.

As her orgasm crashed into her Beca felt it in her entire body, engulfed in a wave of euphoria that seemed unending. Chloe held Beca as she shook, trembling and breathing erratically. Until finally Beca's body relaxed against the bed and Beca's eyes fluttered open. Her pupils still dilated and she had a slightly dazed look on her face, paired with a smile that Chloe couldn't help but mirroring.

They were both silent, no words really needed to be spoken in the moments when Beca tried to regain control of her breathing, her heart still thundering beneath her rib cage. The hand that Beca had been using to anchor herself to Chloe, now ran slowly across Chloe's cheek, her touch so gentle, and so reverent Chloe had never seen Beca like this.

" Chloe that…you…" Beca stopped. Clearly her brain hadn't quite turned back on yet.

" Yeah. Are you okay?"

" Mhm." Even still, with her limbs tingled Beca turned them so that Chloe was beneath her. The red head squeaked in surprise at the sudden reversal of their position. She was planning on giving Beca a little more time to recover, but now looking up into her girlfriends smoky eyes Chloe saw that the slightly dazed look had been replaced with arousal.

" You are just full of surprises aren't you?" Chloe whispered bringing their lips together; Beca's kiss was hungry and her lips insistent as she quickly took control over the kiss. Delving her tongue into Chloe's mouth and claiming it as her own. It was a strange sensation that she was now comfortable in her role as the dominant one. It was not a role that she was usually comfortable in. But the sounds that it brought out of Chloe made it worth it. Chloe couldn't help but find a more dominant Beca incredibly hot. Chloe never would have guessed that Beca was inexperienced.

" Now who's overdressed?" Beca asked looking down at Chloe's state of being half dressed. In fact, Chloe still had her jeans on, though they were unbuttoned and Beca could see a hint of Chloe's underwear.

" I got distracted." Chloe replied with a shrug. Beca gave Chloe her trademark smirk and got up, helping to remove Chloe's jeans and dropping them off the side of the bed. If she didn't have her incredibly hot girlfriend laying now almost completely naked, she would have noticed the state of the room. It looked like a dresser had exploded, clothes were everywhere. Neither of them had been particularly careful with where they had thrown the clothes they no longer needed.

" You are so beautiful." Beca said looking down at Chloe laying in all her glory for Beca to see. Unlike Beca, Chloe didn't feel the need to try and cover herself up. As she had told Beca very early on in their friendship, she was pretty confident about her body. It was interesting for Chloe to watch Beca stare at her, flattering for sure, but Chloe could see the awe she could see how beautiful she looked in Beca's eyes.

" Thank you." Chloe said. Crawling back over Chloe, Beca pressed against her girlfriend's body bringing their lips together. The kiss was one filled with barely restrained hunger, Beca hadn't ever known want like this before. Pressing Chloe into the soft mattress Beca wanted just to get closer to her girlfriend. Running her hand down the side of Chloe's body, lingering just over the top of Chloe's hip thumb pressing over the top of Chloe's underwear.

Kissing away from Chloe's neck down along the taut muscles she found there, placing hot, open mouthed kisses to where she guessed Chloe's voice box was. The sentiment not lost on Chloe as she hummed in approval.

" I love the sounds you make." Beca commented glancing up at Chloe before continuing to kiss a path down between Chloe's breasts. Feeling Chloe inhale a shaky breath Beca paused, pulling at the fabric of Chloe's bra until the skin beneath was revealed. Her touch was hesitant, inquisitive and reverent, if Chloe didn't know any better Chloe would have thought Beca had never touched breasts before. Deciding that she wasn't going to rush Beca, allowing Beca to explore and grow more comfortable and confident Chloe watched and later felt Beca run her thumb over the rapidly hardening peak.

It was slightly startling how quickly Chloe's body responded to Beca, the brunette's touch made her ski tingle and her blood boil. Though she tried to be patient, if Beca kept touching her the way that she was Chloe was sure she was going to combust. Beca seemed to notice Chloe's reaction and turned her attention to continuing to explore Chloe's body. Had she wanted to be particularly cruel she would have spent the entire night mapping out every inch of Chloe's body, committing to memory every touch, every taste, and every sound. But she didn't think that Chloe would appreciate being teased for hours on end. There would be plenty of time to explore later.

Using the tip of her tongue to draw a line down Chloe's flat stomach, pausing when she felt Chloe's sharp intake of breath, proud of her effect she had on her girlfriend. When she reached the waist line of Chloe's underwear Beca hooked her thumb on the strap and pulled the strap down thus revealing Chloe's completely naked form. Chloe was, inhumanely beautiful. She had the body of a Goddess and just looking at her Beca had to battle to breathe. Beca expected to be nervous, afraid even that she wouldn't know what to do. But instead, she found that she was excited.

" You don't have to." Chloe whispered, her voice the sexiest Beca had ever heard it.

" Believe me, I want to." Beca said.

When she first tasted Chloe she really wasn't sure what to expect. But she didn't spend too much time lingering on it, she was determined to give Chloe as much if not more pleasure than she had been given. Chloe's head was spinning, she could hardly believe that Beca Mitchell was doing things to her with her mouth that Chloe couldn't even wrap her mind around. Beca's tongue drew circles over the most sensitive parts of Chloe, her lips and teeth nipping playfully.

" Jesus Beca!" Chloe moaned arching into Beca's mouth, her hand going to Beca's head keeping her where she was pulling Beca closer. The desperation in her tone catching Beca's attention, all the time Beca had spent exploring Chloe's body had brought her to the very brink. It wouldn't take much to push her over the edge. When Chloe climaxed it was with Beca's name on her lips.

They spend hours memorizing each other's bodies, committing each freckle, each ticklish spot to memory. By the time they were both sated the sun had long set. But it didn't matter, time didn't matter. Collapsing against Chloe, pressing hot kisses against Chloe's mouth as they both came down from their euphoric high.

" You are…amazing." Beca said falling next to Chloe seeing that Chloe was wearing a matching smile. Chloe reached for Beca and wrapped herself around the smaller woman.

* * *

 

Beca woke the next morning to the sounds of hushed voices and the delicious aroma of coffee. Though she was content to remain in the warmth of the blankets that surrounded her, the distinct lack of her girlfriend in bed with her was enough to force her eyes open. The bedroom was filled with sunlight, the blinds and the curtains thrown open to let the natural light in.

" Good morning sleepy head." Chloe greeted from the doorway holding a French press of steaming coffee and two mugs. Beca couldn't quite form words, Chloe looked breathtaking, and she wasn't even trying. Beca had to bite back a smile, Chloe was wearing one of her tank tops. Setting the coffee down on the nightstand Chloe was about to comment on Beca's silence when Beca's arms reached out and pulled her onto the bed. Her squeal of surprise transforming into a laugh as Beca curled around her body.

" Well I have to say I really like this new side of you." Chloe said settling into bed but watching Beca smile with her eyes still closed. There was something different about the smile, Beca's expressions were always guarded and damned near impossible to read. This smile was completely open and relaxed, the picture of contentment.

" What can I say there is just something about you in one of my tank tops…it's just…" Beca stopped, biting her lip as she thought about it.

" It's just what?" Chloe prompted.

" Sinful." Beca replied her hand sliding over Chloe's torso.

" Does that mean I can steal your clothes more often?" Chloe asked.

" Maybe. Why are you dressed anyway?" Beca pouted, she definitely didn't like that Chloe was dressed.

" Well answering the door in all my glory seemed like an okay idea but then I thought better of it." Chloe said and Beca didn't know if Chloe was serious or not.

" I'm glad you didn't. My eyes only." Beca said.

" Agreed." Chloe said brushing her lips against Beca's. " Good morning."

" It is now."

" What do you want to do today?" Chloe asked a while later while they both nursed their coffee.

" Does staying in bed count?" Beca asked hopefully, looking up at Chloe.

" I've created a monster." Chloe laughed.

" Yeah probably."

" How do you feel about everything that happened?" Chloe asked curiously, Beca took a long sip from her coffee and then put it down on the night stand. Holding her sheet closer to her body to keep it from off Beca knelt before Chloe.

" I don't regret anything that happened last night, it was amazing and wonderful and all those words that I'm really bad at." Beca said with a smile. Glad when she saw Chloe's smile return full force.

" Really?"

" Really. I've never really felt this way before."

" What way?" Chloe asked tangling her fingers with Beca's.

" Happy." Beca replied with a shrug.

" I'm happy too." Chloe said needlessly, it was pretty obvious.

" Chloe." Beca started.

" Hmm?" Chloe asked, her attention on their joint hands.

" I love you." Beca saw Chloe's eyes dart to hers, widening in surprise. " It's probably the most cliché timing to say it. Cuz we just had mind blowing sex. But I do." There are so many things I want to tell you and I don't know how. But essentially, those three words sum it up pretty perfectly. I love you Chloe Beale."

" I love you too."

" So I have an idea on how to start our day." Beca said a mischievous smile on her face.

" How?"

" A shower." Chloe watched Beca hop off the bed and walk towards the large bathroom before pausing in the doorway. " Come on Beale, let's explore this shower."

* * *

 

The weekend went by too quickly, before they knew it they were driving back to Barden. Even though Beca had insisted that consummating their relationship wouldn't change the dynamic of their relationship Chloe was already starting to see small changes. There was a new level of intimacy just in the way that they behaved around each other, it wasn't entirely physical either, and it was in the way that Beca looked at her. The way her smile was completely unreserved and open, Beca had let Chloe in and she wasn't hiding anymore. It was the fact that since they left the hotel room they hadn't stopped touching, Chloe's hand held captive by Beca's and she never wanted Beca to let go.

Their car was filled with the sounds of the radio, randomly breaking out into song in between conversation. It was an appropriate ending to the perfect weekend. Even if the real world was waiting for them.

Beca had just gotten into her dorm and dropped her bag on her bed when the door opened again and Jesse came in with a comfort that made it seem like it was his dorm room not Beca's

" You don't knock anymore?" Beca asked acting more annoyed then she really was.

" No." Jesse replied sitting on Beca's bed.

" What're you even doing here?"

" You go away for the weekend with your girlfriend. I think it's in the code, you have to tell me everything." Jesse explained as if it were the most obvious thing ever.

" What code?"

" Best friend code."

" Is that what we are?" Beca asked having never had one she didn't really know what distinguished a friend from a best friend. But she was pretty sure that Chloe was supposed to be her best friend.

" Well yeah. I mean Chloe's supposed to be your best friend. But you need someone you can talk about Chloe with." Jesse explained.

" Never realized that this was so intricate."

" Stop deflecting. How was it?"

" Are you really asking me about my sex life? I really hope you're not asking me about my sex life." Beca said shaking her head.

" I am. Now, fess up. It was amazing wasn't it?"

" Obviously." Beca said rolling her eyes. Jesse had definitely grown on Beca in the time that they had spent together. In the hours that they had spent together Jesse had cemented himself in Beca's life. He obviously wasn't going to go anywhere, no matter how much she had pushed him away.

" Ah ha!"

" I don't think I'm supposed to tell you about it."

" Do you think Chloe's not telling Aubrey all the sordid details right now?"

" She better not be. Can't we just watch a movie or something?" Seeing Jesse's entire face brighten when she willing volunteered to watch a movie of his choosing with him Jesse let the subject drop.

* * *

 

" What do you mean you're not going to tell me?!" Aubrey screeched, her arms flailing as Chloe sat on her bed hugging a pillow to her chest. Normally Chloe wasn't shy about the details. In fact the red head was usually the Queen of oversharing. Chloe remained surprisingly close lipped about the whole thing.

" If I ever want to have sex with my girlfriend again. I'm not saying another word." Chloe replied.

" So it was good enough you wanna do it again. That's encouraging."

" Aubrey! It's Beca, there's no way that it could have been bad." Chloe insisted throwing a pillow at her best friend.

" You said she was inexperienced."

" You never would have known it." Chloe said with a blush. " She said she loved me."

" She did? Miss Emotionally Unavailable?" Aubrey knew how huge it was that Beca said the words. Chloe had the biggest heart of anyone that Aubrey knew, and having Beca finally acknowledge the depth of the feelings she had for Chloe would mean the world to the red head.

" Yeah. Bre, I really love her." Chloe gushed. She knew most of the time Aubrey didn't want to hear about Beca, given their history of loathing each other.

" I'm happy for you Chloe."

" Thanks."

" Doesn't mean she is exempt from the talk." Aubrey said watching a look of pure terror cross over Chloe's face.

" No! Bre no talk!"

" You're my best friend. She's dating my best friend. She's getting the talk."

" The last person you gave the talk to broke up with me a day later."

" He wasn't worth it." Aubrey replied with a shrug. It was true, he didn't deserve Chloe.

" Aubrey, can't you just take my word for it?" Chloe asked desperately. She'd never been present during one of Aubrey's talks. But she had seen the aftermath. Guys that had never shown an ounce of fear returned to her pale and would barely look her in the eye afterwards. Chloe knew that Aubrey meant well, Aubrey was fiercely protective as Chloe was of Aubrey. But that didn't mean that she wanted to subject Beca to a talk that was apparently more intimidating than any Chloe's dad had ever given. And he was in the military!

" Nope." Aubrey reached for her phone and sent Beca a text inviting her to coffee.

 _We don't hang out. What's up? –_ Beca's response read.

_Non-negotiable Mitchell. It's about Chloe. –_

_Is she ok?_

_She's fine. Coffee shop, one hour._

Chloe watched helplessly as Aubrey put her phone back in her purse. Sure that Beca had no idea what she was walking into. And worse having no idea what Beca's response would be. Beca could go running for the hills after the talk. Beca was kind of the queen of running.

Fifty nine minutes later Aubrey walked into the café, and immediately spotted Beca. Aubrey had to hand it to Beca, being early was definitely a good sign.

" Early?" Aubrey said sitting across from Beca.

" If Bella's taught me anything it's don't keeps Aubrey Posen waiting. I paid for your coffee, you just have to tell them you want it." Beca said enjoying the shocked look on Aubrey's face.

" Uh, thanks." Aubrey said leaving her purse and walking to the counter. When she returned a few minutes later Beca silently waited to see what Aubrey wanted. Though she had a very strong suspicion she knew what Aubrey wanted to discuss. Especially when Aubrey had told her it was about Chloe. Jesse had almost laughed himself off the bed when Beca had told him about the text, after he had regained his composure he explained that it was more than likely Aubrey's attempt at giving her the talk. When Beca only lifted a curious eyebrow he scoffed and told her not to take anything Aubrey said personally and remember that she loved Chloe and Aubrey was trying to protect Chloe.

" Why am I here Aubrey?" Beca asked finally when the blonde didn't immediately start conversation Aubrey wasn't usually shy when she had something she wanted to say.

" Before I get started, I just want you to hear me out. I know you're going to try and argue with me. " Aubrey said, Beca's instantly wanted to argue. She was defensive by nature and Aubrey pointing out to her that she was defensive only made her want to prove it. But, showing restraint she simple kept her lips shut and nodded.

" Chloe's my best friend, she and I have been through a lot together growing up and she is closer to me than my own family. Simply put she is my family and I am very protective of her as I know she is for me. I've seen her date a lot of people that have taken her huge heart for granted, you know how she is. She loves and she cares without any thought that someone might hurt her, and when that fact is proven and she is hurt, I'm there to pick up the pieces.

I don't know what she saw in you. When she first told me that she had a toner for you I thought she was ridiculous. You with your alt style and your ear monstrosities, you just weren't her usual type. But then she started spending more time with you, and each time she would come back and tell me about it and she would just be beaming. I would normally spend these chats telling you how unworthy you are of Chloe. I still think that's true. But I'm not going to, can you guess why?" Aubrey asked, nodding her permission that Beca could indeed verbally answer the question.

" No."

" Because I think you know that." Aubrey stated. Beca couldn't help but nod. Aubrey was right, Beca did know that Chloe was in some ways out of her league. " I'm not trying to be cruel Beca. I've come to like you as a person and as a fellow Bella. But you're dating my best friend."

" So you're inclined to hate me." It wasn't a question, Beca was pretty sure that she was right.

" Not hate you, just let you know what you're in for if you break her heart." Aubrey said.

" Is this where you tell me if I hurt Chloe you'll make me pay? Maybe do some physical harm to me? Or something supposedly equally terrifying?" Beca asked obviously unimpressed. She was pretty sure that she could take Aubrey if the blonde decided that she wanted to throw down. There were times during Bella rehearsals that it almost came to blows.

" No." Aubrey said simply.

" No?" Now Beca was confused.

" I'm not going to threaten you for two reasons, the first being that you know if you break her heart then _she's_ going to kick your ass. But the other reason, you make her really happy. Like, happier than I've ever seen her."

" She makes me happy to." Beca said lamely.

" It's going to take a lot of convincing for me believe that you won't hurt her. But she seems to think that you won't. And she asked me to be nice to you."

" I'm guessing you've given a much meaner speech to others?"

" I made one of her ex's cry."

" Oh that is a story I need to hear." Beca laughed, finding that it wasn't hard to imagine Aubrey reducing a full grown man to tears.

" They had been dating for a couple of weeks. The first week Chloe was pretty crazy about him. It got to the point that it was time for the best friend talk, like we're having here. And he approached me like he didn't need my approval, he thought the whole thing was a joke and started talking about Chloe like she was an object. Some prize that he'd won. And I in no uncertain terms told him exactly where he could shove it and if he so much as caused Chloe's smile to falter for a moment I told him where I'd put the pieces of his body." Aubrey replied laughing, Beca blinked somewhat dumbfounded at Aubrey not sure if Aubrey was kidding. When she realized Aubrey wasn't kidding she couldn't help but join Aubrey in laughing.

" What a dick." Beca commented. She'd been curious about the guys that Chloe had dated in the past, it was a sort of curiosity Beca tried not to go down that road. She imagined Chloe's ex list looked like typical, all American frat boys. Not exactly a list of people Beca wanted to compare herself to.

" Suffice to say their relationship didn't last long after that."

" Look, I get it. Chloe is your person, the two of you are like peas in a pod or whatever. I'm not trying to take her away from you. You and I might not get along but we can agree to try and get along for Chloe."

" Careful Mitchell, I'm starting to like you."

" It's just my natural charm. So…best friend talk over?" Beca asked.

" Yeah."

" Good, but I got nowhere to be. What do you say we actually hang out and see I we can somehow learn to stomach each other."

" Okay." Aubrey replied settling down into her chair intrigued to see what an actual conversation with Beca might be like.

Chloe was going out of her mind, she'd paced the length of her dorm room at least a hundred times every couple of laps she'd look at her phone and hope that she would get a text message from Beca or Aubrey. How could their talk have lasted two hours? _Two hours._ And in that time she had sent half a dozen texts to Aubrey, and at least a dozen to Beca and neither of them had responded. When she finally heard a faint knock on her door Chloe almost tripped over her feet opening the door. Smiling in relief when she saw Beca standing in her doorway.

" Hey." Chloe greeted breathlessly.

" Hey." Beca replied somberly.

" Is everything okay?" Chloe asked inviting Beca in seeing the way that Beca walked in looking defeated.

" Just had a very long…very detailed conversation with Aubrey."

" Is it…do I still have a girlfriend or are you here to break up with me?" Chloe asked genuinely afraid. Beca looked up at Chloe, the look of confusion and shock on her face made Chloe relax slightly.

" You're best friend might be borderline psychotic. But she's not all that bad, and she has your back. And I can respect that."

" Yeah?"

" Yeah, but you owe me a lot of sex for making me sit through a "if you hurt my friend…" speech." Beca said pulling Chloe towards the bed.

" I think I can do that."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**\- 8 years ago**

" You look like someone stepped on your headphones." Looking up at the odd but nonetheless appropriate statement Beca saw Jesse standing over her.

" What does that mean?" Beca asked as Jesse sat next to her.

" A mixture of pissed off and devastated." Jesse explained.

" I suppose that makes sense." Beca said shrugging.

" So what's up?" Jesse pressed. It wasn't the same when he did it, when Chloe pushed usually she was less blunt about it. Asking first if Beca even wanted to talk about it, if she didn't then Chloe would wait and get it out of Beca when Beca was ready to talk about it.

" It's nothing."

" And in what universe am I supposed to believe that?" Jesse asked. Beca was usually so good at keeping her emotions from reflecting on her face. She had a constant shield of either apathy or sarcasm. Jesse was sure that Beca could be dying inside and there would barely be a sign of it on her face.

" Chloe leaves for New York on Monday." Beca said knowing she wouldn't be able to get Jesse to leave her alone until she told him what was wrong.

" Oh."

" Yeah."

" You going to be okay?" It seemed like such a simple question, and Beca was sure that it was meant to make her feel better, to prove to her that he cared. It only made her angry.

" My girlfriend is moving a thousand miles away. Oh yeah, I'm just peachy." Beca replied dryly.

" Have you thought about transferring?"

" To where?"

" NYU or Columbia. Somewhere closer to Chloe." He didn't want her to go, Beca was his best friend. But he knew that she would be miserable without Chloe.

" Those are like Ivy league schools. I don't have the grades. And I'm not moving to New York.' Beca argued.

" Why not?"

" Jesse I'm just not okay." Beca snapped.

" Okay sorry."

" And stop looking like I killed your puppy." Beca said standing and leaving without another word. Beca didn't really have a destination in mind until she arrived at the station. Her shift wasn't due to start for several more hours but Luke didn't mind her starting early. Losing herself in music always seemed to help when she couldn't find peace in the real world. Beca didn't realize how much time had passed until she heard a gentle rapping of the window outside the booth. Seeing Chloe standing there Beca removed her headphones queued up a few playlists and went to open the door.

" Hey." Beca greeted when she emerged.

" Hey."

" What're you doing here?" Beca asked leaning casually against the door.

" I ran into Jesse."

" Of course you did. He can't just let things go can he?" Beca asked her annoyance obvious.

" He cares." Chloe replied. Beca bit back several unkind words about what he could do with his compassion.

" So now that he's worried, you're worried." It wasn't a question, Beca could see in Chloe's face that she was worried. They hadn't talked about Chloe's impending departure, even though Chloe had tried several times Beca had always steered the conversation somewhere else. And Chloe had let her.

" Well you did lash out at him for being concerned."

" No, I lashed out at him for talking about things that can never happen. There's no point in talking about improbable things." Beca explained. Chloe knew Beca was being intentionally vague.

" He tried to talk you into coming to New York didn't he?"

" Yeah."

" It's not improbable Beca." Chloe offered.

" Not you too." Beca groaned. She didn't understand why they were trying to torment her with what if's and the possibilities. Dealing with Chloe leaving was enough. She didn't want to get her hopes up thinking that she could follow Chloe to New York. That was only setting herself up for more pain.

" I'm sorry. He just wants you to be happy." Chloe offered. Beca relaxed slightly, her anger dissipating just by Chloe being there. How was she going to cope without the red head?

" I know. I'll call him and apologize later."

" There is another reason I'm here." Chloe offered.

" Uh oh." Beca said jokingly. When Chloe didn't smile Beca sobered. " What's up?"

" So my parents are coming to town for graduation." Beca knew what that meant.

" Okay."

" I want you to meet them." Chloe said in a rush. She'd debated asking Beca mostly because she didn't want the hurt that would come if Beca said no. Knowing Beca would likely refuse she'd put off asking Beca. Beca couldn't ever recall seeing Chloe so nervous, it was kind of adorable.

" Okay." Beca said simply.

" Really?" Chloe asked unable to hide her surprise.

" It's important to you right?"

" Yeah it is."

" Then I'll meet your parents."

" I love you." Chloe exclaimed throwing her arms around Beca's neck and kissing her thoroughly. Beca would have been willing to spend the rest of her shift kissing Chloe like that. But she still had to work, and Luke did have that rule that they weren't supposed to have sex on the desk. Kissing Chloe always had a way of escalating quickly.

" I love you too, and I promise I will call Jesse and apologize when I get off work here." Beca promised her arms circled loosely around Chloe's waist.

" Are you coming by later?" Chloe asked. Beca looked down, she wanted to go over to Chloe's but there were mixes that she had been neglecting for days that she really wanted to get made.

" I really should be working on my mixes. Luke says I can continue to play them and I'm running out of original stuff." Beca replied seeing the glimpse of disappointment cross over Chloe's face.

" Okay."

" We can spend tomorrow together." Beca suggested as a way of compromise.

Beca felt the familiar cushion of her headphones hug her ears as she put them on, it was something that she could never explain to anyone and hope for them to understand. Her headphones were the equivalent of tailored gloves, she had had them long enough that they were fitted to her ears. As the first few notes of her mix began to flow through the headphones the world around Beca slowly disappeared and she dissolved completely into the progression of notes, bass lines that meshed so flawlessly it was like they were always meant to be that way.

She was probably there for hours, she didn't know how long she sat at her desk pouring out hours of music onto flash drive after flash drive, stopping only when her computer indicated that she was out of storage space. It had been a long time since she had been on such a roll and it felt great. Beca always felt like that when she finished a mix, let along three very good ones in one sitting. Self-consciousness was something Beca was very familiar with, but music was her element. The place she could go where she knew she was good.

The clock told her that it was a little after 2 in the morning. But she was wired, the music that had been flowing from her brain through her blood into the computer had left behind an energy that no caffeinated beverage could duplicate. Without much thought about it Beca took her flash drives and stuffed them in her pocket, grabbed her jacket and left her dorm. Chloe had always told her that she could come over whenever, though Beca doubted that Chloe had 2am in mind when she'd made her offer. Still, Beca wanted to be with her girlfriend.

Knocking on Chloe's door Beca waited for her girlfriend to open the door, but when the door did open Beca bit her lip guiltily. She'd woken Chloe up. In the back of her mind she should have known that Chloe would be sleeping when she got there.

" Beca? Is everything okay?" Chloe asked, her mind going to the worst when she saw that Beca was there in the middle of the night.

" I suppose I should have looked at the clock before coming." Beca said sheepishly.

" No it's okay. Come in." Chloe said her voice still raspy and full of sleep. But she was happy to see Beca.

" I was making mixes and I finished and I just wanted to see you. I didn't even think about what time it was." Chloe smiled at how sweet Beca was, sitting down on her bed that still held the warmth of her body.

" I like you like this." Chloe said.

" Like what?"

" It's what I like most, when you make mixes, it's hot." Beca blushed at Chloe's words, crawling on the bed to sit next to Chloe.

" Still, I feel bad that I woke you up. Go back to sleep, I just want to be with you." Chloe knew that Beca wouldn't go to sleep, the brunette was practically buzzing with energy.

" Let me hear them." Chloe said reaching for her lap top, Beca brightened that Chloe was willing to stay up with her and listen to her mixes. Opening the lap top Beca let it rest on her lap while Chloe curled up against her.

* * *

 

Beca was half way through what she was sure was the longest shift possible, time was going impossibly slow. Cuing the next song Beca's attention was drawn away from the computer when she saw movement in what should have been an abandoned station. The security in the station wasn't the greatest, and it was the middle of the day, but the idea that someone was wandering the station made Beca tense. Luke and Jesse had both, (one of the only things the two had agreed on) insisted that she lock the booth door always when she was there alone.

But the guy that was standing on the main floor of the station looked harmless enough, he was looking for someone it seemed. Beca figured he was lost. Setting up the next play list Beca opened the door, still using the door as a shield she could close quickly if she needed to.

" Can I help you?" Beca asked.

" You tell me. I mean you are fucking my sister aren't you?" Beca tensed. The aggressiveness of the tone could not be mistaken.

" Uh…excuse me?" Beca asked. At least the red hair now made sense.

" My sister Chloe."

" You're Connor." Beca said slowly piecing together what was happening. Chloe had mentioned her brother in passing before.

" Yeah. So what makes you think you're good enough to be with my sister?" Connor demanded approaching Beca slowly. His shoulders squared, he would put Luke to shame when it came to muscles. Beca could see the definition through his shirt.

" Look…" Beca started.

" Answer the question." Connor ground out approaching Beca's personal space. Beca gripped the door knob so tightly her knuckles turned white. He lingered there for what must have been a small eternity. His eyes burning a hole through Beca. The same cerulean eyes Chloe had only harsher. And then…he smiled. " I'm just fucking with you."

Beca's eyes went wide as Connor stepped away putting a more respectable distance between them. Her heart currently being located in her throat Connor had possessed the same lack of personal boundaries as Chloe but as Chloe was more affectionate and bubbly Connor had come at Beca as if he intended on ripping her in half.

" What just happened?" Beca demanded dumbfounded.

" I asked Aubrey where I might find you. She said you worked here. I wanted to meet the girl that's sleeping with my sister."

" Will you stop saying _that!_ " Beca hissed.

" Why? Are you ashamed?" Connor knew within a few minutes that he was going to like Beca. He was generally a good judge of character but Beca was pretty fun to mess with.

" What? No!"

" Then what's the problem?"

" I don't even know you."

" Whose fault is that?" Connor challenged. Beca had no response for that.

" I'm not really good at the meet the family thing."

" I get it. We can be a lot. Just know that if you're serious about Chloe, you're gonna have to get used to us. She's the baby of the family and we kinda love her best. So just be aware." Connor said in caution but also Beca sensed a more jovial nature coming through.

" Love her best?"

" She's Chloe."

" Totally get it." Beca said with a nod.

" So are you stuck here or you wanna go get coffee or something."

" I can ditch. Just give me a second." Beca replied disappearing back into the booth. Knowing she was going to catch shit from Luke for leaving the booth. But someone would be in to relieve her in a few hours anyway and the playlist would last a good several hours. Grabbing her stuff Beca couldn't imagine that she was actually going to hang out with Chloe's brother, willingly.

" If I remember correctly there's a coffee shop around the corner. I can interrogate you before mom and dad get the chance."

" Yay interrogation." Beca said sarcastically.

Beca sat across from Connor both nursing their coffees in silence while Connor looked Beca over he wasn't exactly being subtle about it.

" You're pretty hot." Connor said making Beca almost choke on her coffee.

" Ahem…thanks?"

" I'm not coming on to you. Just stating a fact. My sister did good." Connor explained.

" I think I'm the lucky one. But thanks." Connor saw the smile that Beca was trying to hide but wasn't quite able to.

" You've told her right?"

" What?"

" That you're in love with her." Connor asked.

" I'm just going to stop drinking this because you seem intent on making me choke on it." Beca said sliding her coffee away.

" It's kinda obvious. Just the way you smile when you think about her. It's cute."

" I didn't realize interrogation meant embarrassment.

" Alright, alright I'll be nice. So what do you want to do when you grow up?"

" I want to produce music."

" Are you any good?"

" I hold my own."

" If you wanna make it you'll have to do more than hold your own." Connor said showing genuine interest.

" I'm pretty good."

" That's better."

Conversation flowed with Connor as easily as it did with Chloe. Beca was beginning to think it was just a Beale thing. They finished their coffee and it would have been completely socially acceptable to end their interaction there. It was that point when they were between activities so they would be able to part ways and go back to doing their own thing. And then Connor asks her if he can listen to one of her mixes and she actually agrees.

Beca blames Chloe. It's all her fault, Beca's completely and almost irrevocable undoing, Beca was sure of it. There was no other reason why Beca would be willingly bringing someone she just met into her dorm room to listen to something she made. But Chloe had applied the right amount of pressure with her praise of Beca's mixes, really Beca couldn't stop Chloe's praise that night when they stayed up all night listening to Beca's new mixes. Sure Beca had played her mixes on the radio, but her audience was anonymous, she didn't know them, they didn't know her and she was okay with that. This was someone she had just met that would be sitting in her dorm and listening to her songs.

" This stuff is really cool." Connor said running his fingers across the equipment seeing Beca tense and immediately retracting his hand with an apologetic look. Beca opened up the program and invited Connor to sit down and he waited as patiently as a kid on Christmas morning for her to start playing the mix.

He listened, just like Chloe did with his entire body. It was startling the similarities between the siblings. But he leaned in just so, like he had to get closer to the speaker in order to fully appreciate the sound. It surprised her when he turned to her suddenly.

" You're really talented." Connor offered looking up at Beca, nothing but the truest sincerity in his tone.

" Thanks." Beca muttered self-consciously.

" Seriously Beca have you sent any of this off to people?" Beca could feel her cheeks flush with heat as she looked down at her feet.

" No."

" You need to. I know a few people, if you want I can send it to them. See what they could do with it." Connor knew a lot of people, it helped that he was part of a big company in New York that put him in contact with hundreds of people a month. But there were some very influential club owners on his speed dial that would love to get their hands on Beca's music.

" Uh…sure." Beca agreed. What did she really have to lose? The small 25% of the student population that listened to the campus radio station had heard her music but that wasn't going to get her anywhere.

" Cool." Beca's attention was drawn away when she heard her phone come alive on the desk. Seeing Chloe's name appear on the screen Beca picked it up.

" Hey." Beca greeted casually watching Connor go back to her music.

" Hey, you aren't at the station." Chloe commented, she had put Beca's schedule in her phone just so that she knew when her girlfriend would be working ridiculously late hours at the radio station. Beca was usually good about telling her when things changed. It wasn't that Chloe was keeping tabs on Beca, but Chloe liked to do cute things for Beca like bring her food when she knew that the brunette was to engrossed in music to actually remember to eat.

" Yeah, sorry I was kidnapped." Beca replied casually seeing Connor roll his eyes.

" And I'm taking it by your general lack of panic that you know you're kidnapper?" Chloe asked playing along since she was pretty sure that if Beca had indeed been kidnapped she wouldn't be joking about it.

" Nope, never seen him before in my life." Beca replied just as Connor took her phone.

" I'm keeping her hostage until you agree to give me your entire record collection." Connor stated in as menacing of a voice as he could manage, which Beca had to admit was not at all menacing.

" OH MY GOD CONNOR!" From the sheer joy that came through Beca's phone Beca gathered that Chloe didn't know that her brother was in town.

" Hey little sister."

" Are you at Beca's dorm? I'm coming over right now." Chloe said in a rush already sounding as if she were running. They didn't have to wait long, before either of them really knew what happened the door to Beca's dorm was thrown open and Chloe came flying in. Truly, Beca wasn't really sure that she saw Chloe's feet ever touch the ground before she nearly tackled Connor backward.

" When did you get here?! I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow with mom and dad." Chloe said though her question as muffled by Connor's shoulder.

" I thought I'd come early and see how you were really doing before the parental's got here and you had to hide everything from them." Connor replied as Chloe released him and saw that Beca had retreated onto her bed content to leave the siblings to their reunion. Though she continued to watch them warily, like she wasn't exactly sure what was about to happen. Connor had to admit, Beca was a bit of a jumpy, reclusive creature.

" I do not hide anything from them!"

" I know, that's why they love you best." Connor replied.

" And why is it that instead of coming to see me you go and see Beca first?" Chloe demanded poking Connor in the chest her eyes narrowing.

" I wanted to meet the girl that has you so happy."

" She does make me happy, but I had hoped to be able to prepare her before the craziness of my family came waltzing into her life."

" Uh…she's also right here and can speak for herself?" Beca said looking between them sure that they had completely forgotten that she was there.

" Sorry babe." Chloe replied running her hand through Beca's hair, she would normally have greeted Beca with a kiss but since Connor was there it was a little weird to do so.

" It's cool actually, we spend the last couple hours hanging out. She's cool, I like her." Connor said. And somehow knowing she had his approval made Beca immensely proud. She'd never really cared about people's approval before, she was who she was and if they didn't like it then they could just deal with it. Hence why she and Aubrey had such issues getting along.

" I'm quite fond of her too." Chloe replied sitting down next to Beca, making sure she was intentionally to close to the brunette so that their legs and shoulders brushed just slightly. Connor would have had to be blind to see the spark between Chloe and Beca, he'd seen Chloe with people before, guys and girls. But none of them had ever made her light up like Beca did.

The three of them made an evening of it, since he was there Chloe wasn't going to just have Connor venture out on his own. They went to dinner in town, and then they mostly just hung out. For being a few years older than they were Connor was a lot of fun to hang around. At around midnight Connor decided to call it a night and leave the girls to their night. They didn't spend a lot of time in Beca's dorm, mainly because Chloe's bed was bigger and more comfortable, and the lack of roommate was always appealing. But Kimmie Jin had packed up all her things and gone home for the summer already. Meaning that for the next few summer months Beca was living alone.

Chloe curled against Beca's side, resting her head on the pillow next to the brunettes. Even in the darkness of the room Chloe could see that Beca was still awake.

" Thank you for today."

" I didn't do anything."

" You hung out with my brother." Chloe insisted.

" It was hardly a hardship Chloe, your brother is almost as cool as you are." Beca received a poke in the ribs for that comment. " I said almost!"

" Are you sure you're okay with dinner with my parents tomorrow?" Chloe asked.

" I'm sure babe. Go to sleep."

* * *

 

" I'm screwed!" Beca said pacing Jesse's dorm room, she was nervous and her hands were shaking. Chloe had left to go pick up her parents at the airport with Connor, and they would come back and pick up Beca for dinner around five. But Beca was too busy freaking out to think about any of that. And her best friend was sitting on his bed chuckling at her misfortune. " This isn't funny Jesse! How did I not know this before?"

" Because you're a recluse that doesn't give a crap about the corporate world at all?" Jesse offered receiving a glare from Beca that made him want to disappear into the mattress of his bed.

" Chloe's dad is the head of a multibillion dollar company. And I'm going to dinner with him tonight. Why didn't you tell me?"

" I thought you knew! Or that Chloe maybe mentioned it. What did she tell you about them when you've talked about her parents."

" She just said that he works for a big business firm in New York. We never really talked about it. God, she's like…the daughter of a millionaire and I've been taking her on dates to café's and shit like that." Beca groaned flopping down on Jesse's bed, utter defeat painted on her face.

" Beca, from what I know of Chloe and for that matter what you know about Chloe is that money doesn't matter to her. She could be living in a loft somewhere off campus that's glamorous and all sorts of extravagant but she isn't. She's living in student housing. She could be flaunting the boat loads of cash she has but she isn't. I don't think money is what she's about Bec." Jesse offered. He could see how Beca might be freaking out a little. She had just learned that Chloe's family didn't just come from money, they were the definition of it. Jesse had only a small amount of knowledge of the corporate world but he knew enough from listening to his parents to know that the Beale family were close to American royalty. There was talk once that Chloe's dad might run for some sort of political office.

" But…"

" No, no buts. Chloe loves you. If she didn't mention it to you then I'm sure it's because it doesn't matter to her."

" You're so cheesy." Beca commented, though she did appreciate Jesse trying to make her feel better. Still didn't help the nerves or the fact that in less than two hours she'd be sitting at a dinner table with her girlfriend's parents. Which was something that she had never done before. But in all fairness in High school she had never really had real relationships, flirtations and make out sessions when no one was looking. That was all Beca had to go on with relationships. So knowing that she and Chloe had lasted even for as long as they had, and were still going strong, it was promising.

" You're going to be fine. And if all else fails and they completely hate you, just remember that Chloe loves you."

" Somehow that is in no way reassuring." Beca said sitting up, she had to start getting ready.

" Call me if you need me."

Dinner in the city with Chloe's parents turned out to be dinner in the city at-the-most-expensive-restaurant in Atlanta. Beca looked at the place as they drove up, she'd ended up allowing (begging) Chloe to help her figure out something to wear since Beca doubted flannel would be appropriate and she had an abundance of it in her closet. Chloe saw Beca's eyes go wide when she looked at the exterior of the restaurant and she allowed her fingers to lace with Beca's. A silent reassurance that everything would be okay.

" They like to do this. It's really not a big deal." Chloe promised before they even got out of the car.

" Do what?" Beca asked thinking that she might have missed something.

" Go to expensive restaurants. My mom's a bit of a foodie. But really, they are trying to impress you." Chloe offered. She knew that Beca was nervous, and no matter how many times she tried to convince her girlfriend not to be she knew that no matter what she said Beca would be nervous. So all she could do was try and explain her parents to Beca so the brunette would know what to expect.

" You mean intimidate?"

" Impress."

Beca followed Chloe inside, with a nod to the hostess Chloe walked back through the restaurant with a familiarity that told Beca that she had been there at least once before. They weaved through tables, Beca picking up bits of conversation at different tables when she found they were standing at the opening of a small alcove. A sort of private dining area and saw three people already sitting down. Connor she recognized instantly, and the man that sat at the head of the table stood when he saw them.

" Daddy." Chloe greeted letting go of Beca's hand and moving to hug her dad. Beca took several deep breaths before venturing in. Chloe's dad was an imposing man, his hair was salt and pepper but he looked to be only in his mid to late 40's.

" You must be Beca." He said. Beca never understood why people said that. He knew who she was.

" Hi, it's nice to meet you Mr. Beale." Beca said with a small smile.

" Please, call me Victor." Well that was a good sign. Beca circled the table to greet Chloe's mom, who was essentially an older version of Chloe with the hair and the eyes to match. And before Beca knew it she was being pulled into an almost painfully tight embrace.

" I'm Barbara, Chloe's mom."

" Hi." Beca replied awkwardly, hugging Barbara back as much as she was able.

They all sat around the table and conversation started with only a little bit of awkwardness, Beca answered questions she expected to be asked. But for the most part Beca didn't mind, all the questions that Victor and Barbara asked were all unassuming out of pure interest. And then came the dreaded question, the one that Beca knew was coming.

" So Beca, what do you want to do with yourself when you leave Barden?" Victor asked.

" Uh…I want to be a music producer." Beca finally said. She had thought about lying or coming up with something that sounded a bit less of a pipe dream but she decided honesty was the best option.

" Really? That's great." Barbara asked smiling warmly at Beca.

" Really?" The question was out before Beca could even stop it. The confusion on Chloe's parents face made Chloe laugh.

" Is it not great?" Victor asked curiously.

" No it is. Sorry, my dad is not so supportive." Beca explained feeling Chloe's hand slide over her own and squeeze it comfortingly.

" We have a rule in our house Beca, sounds far too cliché but its worked for us so far. We support each other even if they are the craziest of dreams. When she was little Chloe wanted to join the circus. Spent an entire year sure that she could be one of those high wire performer people, we bought lessons at this little shop that taught people how to perform in the circus." Chloe's face turned as red as her hair.

" She didn't!" Beca tried to imagine little Chloe trying to perform with the circus. It was a hilarious visual.

" I was like 8!" Chloe insisted defensively.

" I think it's cute." Beca replied nudging Chloe. Barbara watched her daughter and the way she acted around Chloe. Chloe was truly beaming, she looked happier than Barbara had ever seen her. They had talked about Beca over the phone and Barbara could hear how much Chloe liked Beca, but seeing it made it more real.

Leaving the restaurant after hugs and promises to get together again before they left Atlanta Beca and Chloe were on their way back to campus. The entire drive home Beca felt Chloe's eyes on her, Beca had elected to drive since Chloe had indulged in a few glasses of wine with her parents. They didn't talk, the soft sounds of the radio filling the car instead. Chloe couldn't stop staring at her girlfriend, no one that Chloe had ever introduced to her family had charmed them as completely as Beca had. Her entire family adored Beca, and her mom had given her the maternal approval during their farewell hug.

" Okay, you should say something cuz this whole staring thing is kinda creepy." Beca said when they walked into Chloe's dorm.

" Sorry, I'm just playing over what happened tonight. They love you." Chloe said.

" They are pretty great." Beca answered turning and noticing that Chloe hadn't her spot right by the door. " What?"

" I love you." Chloe said her voice dropping affecting Beca in ways she didn't think she would ever fully understand. Chloe could turn Beca on just by the sound of her voice.

" I love you too." Beca replied meeting Chloe half way between them and bringing their lips together.

Chloe's kiss was hungry and filled with want, Beca stumbled backward taken by surprise by the sheer amount of passion Chloe put into the kiss. Chloe was often the dominant one when it came to kissing, but this was different. There was desperation in Chloe's kiss like she thought that Beca might disappear if she let her go.

Afterward as they lay tangled in Chloe's bed, both silently trying to regain their breath Beca used what last bit of energy she had to prop herself up on her elbow and look down at her girlfriend. Chloe was looking at the boxes that were stacked at the opposite end of her room. Evidence of her impending move and Beca was beginning to understand.

" You okay?" Beca asked running her finger over the side of Chloe's face prompting the red head to look at her.

" Yeah, I'm better than."

" You can't lie to me Chloe. What's going on in that beautiful head of yours?" Beca asked not used to this withdrawn side of Chloe. She was the one that was afraid to show her inner thoughts and emotions, Chloe was usually so open about it.

" I don't want to leave." Chloe said finally.

" I know, but you have to. This is a huge step towards your future babe. You have to go."

" I don't want to leave you."

" I don't want you to leave. But you have to." Beca could be strong for Chloe, she was surprised how confident and how calm her voice sounded even if the idea of Chloe leaving for New York filled her with a pain she had tried so hard to avoid. " Get some sleep, you graduate tomorrow."

Graduation came and went, Beca watched proudly with Chloe's family while Chloe walked across the stage with Aubrey and they accepted their diplomas. Beca felt Barbara reach down and grab her hand in excitement very much the same way she grabbed Victors. Beca couldn't help but be a little envious and in awe of the love that Chloe's parents had for her, the steadfast support they offered to her no matter what she told them she wanted to be.

That night after all the celebration, though to be fair they did leave early Chloe and Beca returned to Beca's. Kimmie Jin was gone and Chloe's dorm had been reclaimed by the University and all of her stuff shipped to New York. Chloe had insisted that she wanted to spend her last night with Beca just cuddling and spend that last time together. They had talked about when they would see each other again, set up a schedule of Skype dates and phone calls. Beca vaguely remembered agreeing to one phone call a day, just so they can hear each other's voices.

" What time do we need to get up tomorrow?" Beca asked looking up from her phone where she had her alarm open so that she could set it.

" Uh…my flights at 10. So probably 7." Chloe replied watching Beca set the alarm and set her phone down. Beca didn't like seeing Chloe so sad, it was heartbreaking to see someone so full of life so depressed.

" Chloe, come here." Beca said pulling her girlfriend towards her and making her crawl onto the bed. Chloe instantly curling around Beca and pulling her almost painfully close.

Neither of them slept that night, both determined not to miss a moment of their last few hours together before Chloe left. Cradling Chloe in her arms, Beca was left to reflect over how much being in a relationship with Chloe had changed her. She was cuddling, something that she had been so against before Chloe. But Chloe needed it, needed to feel Beca near her and if Beca was completely honest with herself Beca needed it too. Even when Beca shifted she felt Chloe's grip on her tighten fearing that the brunette was trying to get up.

" I love you."

" I love you too."

* * *

 

The morning came under an umbrella of somber silence Beca got up first, knowing if she didn't move then it would be too tempting to just stay in bed with Chloe. Beca did have a selfish thought that if she could just keep Chloe in bed with her and have Chloe miss her flight then maybe Chloe would stay and they wouldn't have to deal with a long distance relationship. But that wouldn't help anyone, as much as she wanted to be selfish Beca knew that this was what Chloe wanted. And the one thing Beca wanted to avoid was having Chloe end up resenting her later on if she did keep Chloe there.

Grabbing Chloe's wrist, stopping the redhead from collecting the last of her things and making her turn. Chloe didn't have a chance to say anything before Beca claimed her lips. A soft, beautifully sensual and loving kiss that stole Chloe's breath away. The level of love that poured out of Beca's kiss prompted Chloe to pull Beca back towards the bed. She wanted nothing more than to fall back into bed.

" Babe, we can't." Beca protested, groaning when Chloe's hands disappeared under the fabric of her shirt.

" We can be quick." Chloe offered making quick work of the button and zipper of Beca's jeans.

" Not if we end up in that bed." Beca said her hands going to Chloe's shoulders more gripping the red head to keep herself from falling.

" I just want to remember what you're body feels like. For those lonely nights when I have to use my imagination and Titanium." Chloe whispered, her tone making Beca's shiver.

" God Chloe." Beca whimpered feeling Chloe's fingers slide into her underwear, her hips bucking against Chloe's hand. Gripping Chloe's shoulders as Chloe's fingers began to move, knowing just how to touch Beca to bring her to the edge.

" I love the sounds you make. The way you respond when I'm… _inside_ you." Chloe whispered emphasizing her words by sliding a finger inside Beca and hearing Beca moan against her shoulder. Holding Beca tightly to her Chloe guessed if she let go Beca would probably fall, but Chloe didn't mind. She liked that she was supporting Beca while Beca came undone.

Beca wasn't always the most vocal in bed, she tended to keep herself more restrained than Chloe but when she came it was with a loud moan and Chloe's names on her lips. Her body shaking violently against Chloe's while Chloe held her.

" Jesus Chloe." Beca whispered regaining her composure, not sure if she were entirely steady on her feet.

" Sorry." Chloe said without any real sincerity.

" Get on the bed." Beca growled pushing Chloe backward. Chloe did as she was told and she sat back on the bed while Beca made quick work of her jeans. Pulling the denim down the redheads long legs and tossing them aside to be reclaimed later. Pressing hot open mouth kisses along the inside of Chloe's thigh Beca could feel Chloe's eyes on her, watching her and knowing that only help to send Beca's arousal into the atmosphere.

Throwing her head back, wrapping her fingers in Beca's hair as Beca's mouth pressed against Chloe. Wrapping her mouth around the buddle of nerves that Beca knew would drive Chloe towards a powerful orgasm. Vaguely Beca could feel Chloe's breath become more uncontrolled, her hips beginning to rock against her mouth. She was rewarded a few minutes later when Chloe's grip on her turned almost vice like and Chloe's entire body tensed and the pleasure filled moan that tumbled from Chloe's lips.

" We need to get ready, your parents will be here any minute." Beca said as she pulled on a new pair of jeans.

The drive to the airport was spent in pleasant conversation, Beca agreeing to drive them all. She was not looking forward to the farewell at the airport. She had never been good at goodbyes. That's why she never let herself get close enough to people to warrant goodbyes. After a short goodbye to Chloe's family, Chloe lingered before the security line her hand clamped tightly around Beca's.

" Call me when you land?"

" I will. And we have a Skype date tomorrow."

" I love you Chloe Beale."

" I love you too Beca Mitchell."

" I've been dreading this moment for so long. I don't know how to say goodbye to you." Beca whispered tears glistening in her eyes.

" It's not goodbye Beca."

" I don't know if I can watch you walk away from me." Beca said a single tear rolling down her cheek.

" That's why you're going to turn around and walk away from me." Chloe said her heart crumbling a little bit as the words left her mouth. Nodding slightly, with one last lingering kiss Beca turned and left the airport. Sure that if she stopped even to look backward she would go to the nearest ticket counter and get a ticket to New York.

She sat in her car for hours, watching planes taking off and landing, not trusting herself to drive. Beca didn't want to go back and deal with what life really meant without Chloe there.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

**Present Day –**

" Alright Chloe, you're at ten centimeters now." Beca looked down at her wife and saw the relief wash over Chloe's face. It had taken hours but it looked like this was finally happening.

" Thank God." Chloe said seeing the doctor laugh at her relief.

" Now's when the hard work begins. On the next contraction I want you to push." Chloe nodded, grabbing Beca's hand and getting ready. " Alright, push."

Chloe took a deep breath and pushed with everything that she had. Squeezing Beca's hand so tightly the brunette winced but didn't say anything.

" You're doing so good babe." Beca said encouragingly, daring to glance at the mirror that the doctors had positioned so that Beca could watch what was going on. She didn't know why people actually wanted to watch as it was happening. And as she guessed, as soon as she saw what was happening she quickly turned her attention back to Chloe.

"Alright Chloe, PUSH." Hearing the doctor count Chloe didn't think that ten seconds had ever lasted so long in her entire life. There was nothing that could properly describe what she was feeling; a part of her wanted it to last longer so that she could actually analyze what it was she was feeling. But the other part of her just wanted it over so that she could hold her son. Chloe just focused on getting it over with, pushing through the exhaustion, the pain, everything just so that she could hold her baby.

And then two things happened in very quick succession Beca heard the doctor announcing that they had a baby boy, and the monitors that had been hooked up to Chloe begin to go completely insane. The vice grip that moments before Beca had been wishing Chloe would release went completely limp.

" Chloe?" Beca asked seeing Chloe's eyes close and her head fall to the side. " What's happening?" Beca demanded as she was shoved out of the way by doctors and nurses that seemed to all appear out of nowhere.

" Call the OR. She's losing a lot of blood." One of them said while they silenced the alarms that coming from the machines.

" OR? What's HAPPENING?" Beca felt like she was shouting but no one was paying attention to her to tell her what was happening to Chloe and why her son wasn't crying like she had expected.

" Beca come over here?" Beca felt her arm be pulled towards the less populated side of the room. The room that now held her son. The tiny infant was a bone chilling color of dark bluish red. A blatant indicator that he wasn't okay.

" What's wrong with him? Why isn't he crying?" Beca asked torn between paying attention to what was happening with Chloe and what was happening with him.

" He's having trouble breathing. We need to get him to the NICU." Sarah explained.

" She wanted me to go with him." Beca said though she barely recognized her own voice. This wasn't supposed to be happening. They were supposed to be holding their son now, and everything was supposed to be happy and perfect.

" Of course."

" I can't leave Chloe though." Beca insisted finally looking over to Chloe and seeing that the doctors had made what had looked to be an immovable bed mobile they were in the process of wheeling Chloe out of the room.

" She's going into surgery Beca. She's in good hands." Sarah promised. But Beca didn't hear her, all she could focus on was the now empty place where Chloe had been laying and the pool of blood that had spilled on the ground.

" Will you go and tell her family what's going on? They should know, they should be with her."

" I'll take care of it Beca." Beca followed the NICU nurses that had come to claim her son and followed him out of the room and in the opposite direction that they had taken Chloe.

Beca stared through the large glass window at the baby boy now being hooked up to a breathing tube. Her hands pressed against the glass afraid to blink in case she missed anything.

" I know we haven't had the best relationship. But please God I am begging you do _not_ take them away from me." Beca whispered against the glass.

**8 years ago**

Beca was sure her friends had her on some sort of suicide watch rotation or something. None of them ever left her alone, Jesse was practically her shadow, and the Bella's suddenly wanted to do a movie night or a game night every single night. It was sweet that they were worried about her and she was actually grateful of them for getting her mind off of how empty everything seemed without Chloe. Hours seemed really long, her bed, small as it was, felt weirdly big now that she wasn't sharing it.

They texted a lot. More than they did when they were both at Barden. Dozens of texts per hour it seemed, though Chloe had claimed she wasn't supposed to texted while at work somehow she always managed it. New York was as crazy as Chloe remembered it, but she found she enjoyed the hustle of it, welcoming the contrast from the quietness of Barden.

Her apartment with Aubrey was everything both of them had wanted in the heart of the city. It was no more than a subway stop away from either work for Chloe or grad school for Aubrey. Aubrey had gotten accepted into NYU's law program and was on the fast track to becoming a lawyer. There was a lot to keep them busy but Chloe needed that, whenever she stopped for too long the loneliness, the fact that Beca was so far away seemed all the more blatant. Easily the clingier of the two of them Chloe was usually the one that instigated the text messages or the phone calls but Beca never made Chloe feel stupid for wanting to hear her voice and she would usually answer her texts in a timely manner.

It was Friday night, their date night. They had agreed that every Friday night they would arrange a time where they could Skype or they could talk on the phone, anything more than text messages. And the truth was Chloe needed to see Beca's face. She craved it in a way she couldn't even hope to explain even though she'd tried explaining it to Aubrey. Her foot tapped nervously while she waited for Beca to accept her Skype call. When the blank screen filled with the image of her girlfriend Chloe beamed.

" Hey." Chloe greeted taking in Beca's appearance. Beca was sitting at her desk her head phones hanging around her neck. One of the perks of having no roommate she could easily talk without the use of headphones.

" Hey."

" Were you working on mixes?" Chloe asked curiously knowing that without classes Beca pretty much had free reign to do whatever she wanted when she wasn't at the station.

" Yeah, enjoying the alone time. I swear the Bella's and Jesse are afraid to leave me alone." Beca said with an affectionate roll of her eyes.

" They love you. Aubrey's been doing the same thing to me. Apparently I've been mopey without you." Chloe offered with a sad smile.

" Me too." Beca wasn't sure if seeing Chloe was the best idea it only made her long for the red head more. " How do you like your job?" Beca asked still knowing very little about what Chloe actually did. Chloe had tried explaining it, but somewhere between corporate liaison and marketing specialist Beca got lost.

" I love it. The people are really great." Chloe had bonded with her co-workers pretty easily. Most people gravitated towards Chloe because she was a naturally good hearted person.

" Awe my executive girlfriend. That's kinda hot."

" Behave." Chloe said though Beca didn't detect a single note of sincerity.

" Fine. Hey, so I have a gig." Beca announced. She'd been practically dying to tell Chloe. Even thought about calling her when she found out, but she'd decided she wanted to see Chloe's face when she told her.

" A gig? That's awesome! Where?" Chloe practically screamed her excitement almost threatening to consume her.

" The Garage. Apparently the manager is a friend of Luke's and Luke has been sending him my mixes." Beca had been surprised when Luke had told her he gave some of her mixes to the owner of the Garage. But had been over the moon when Luke had told her that she wasn't working at the station Saturday because she would be at the Garage performing.

" Beca! That's amazing! Baby I'm so proud of you." Chloe practically shouted. Beca couldn't help but laugh at her girlfriend's enthusiasm.

" It is pretty cool huh?"

" Cool? Beca you do not get to downplay this! This is the first step; you're going to be great. When is it?" Chloe asked.

" Next Saturday. Wanna hear what I have?"

" Absolutely."

" Kay hang on." Beca said sending the songs to Chloe and listened to the track with Chloe.

They talked for several hours after that about pretty much what they would have talked about had they been in the same room. Chloe listened to the mix and gave her honest opinion of it, which was for the most part positive but she also gave her critiques over what might have been better. It was one of the strengths of their relationship, Beca had never let people hear her music up until Chloe. She had been afraid of what they might say, for all her false bravado and "devil may care" attitude her ego was still quite fragile.

In the days following Beca threw herself into mixing, coming up with the best mix of music that she could for her debut. The Bella's all promised that they would be there and Jesse of course was going to be there. More than anything Beca wanted Chloe to be there. But Beca knew that Chloe was busy in New York and she couldn't expect Chloe to come down for her show.

She walked into the Garage a few hours before they opened to set up her gear. She felt pretty good about the music she had prepared. Chloe had told her time and again that the mix was easily the best that Beca had come up with. But there was so much more than just the music, she was performing it _live_. That added a whole new level of stress, looking down at the equipment that would be hers for the night.

" You ready for this?" Looking across the platform towards the owner of the Garage Peter, he seemed like a pretty cool guy.

" Definitely."

" If you play music that's even half as good as what Luke showed me then I think you'll be epic."

" Thanks. And thanks for the chance."

" If tonight goes well, maybe we'll have to negotiate a more permanent arrangement." Peter said, he had talked to Luke and had essentially already agreed to hire Beca on as his house DJ but he didn't want to tell Beca that. Luke hadn't been happy that Peter was going to poach his DJ, but Peter was prepared to pay Beca.

" Seriously?"

" Just, show me what you have tonight and we'll go from there okay?"

Beca nodded and she went back to preparing, she went through one practice run. Allowing the music to flow through her head phones so that her fingers could get used to the movements, there was nothing more natural to her than this.

When the lights dimmed and the club began to fill with people Beca felt the slightest flutter of nerves but otherwise she just felt at ease. She thought that she might or rather should have been nervous. But music flowed as naturally from her hands and her ears as blood flowed in her veins. She didn't need to be nervous about something that came as naturally to her as air.

Taking her position on the platform above the dance floor, standing behind the tables and surveying the dance floor that was already quite populated just from the playing of top 40 songs Beca started queuing up her tracks. Her eyes found the Bella's, Fat Amy was hard to miss really, the vivacious blonde Aussie was already a few red Solo cups past sober. Jesse watched her from his seat, there just to support her and Beca appreciated that more than anything.

As the familiar notes of her first track began to play through the speakers Beca saw the shift of the dance floor. A momentary hesitation that every DJ dreaded, it was that moment when a DJ could either win the crowd or lose them. In the first few bars of the song she could keep them dancing, even win over some of the people who weren't dancing. Or she could clear the dance floor. Luckily for Beca, it was the former and people continued dancing. By the time she transitioned to her second track the dance floor was crowded, multicolored lights were sweeping over a sea of dancing people.

She was only supposed to be on for a few hours but as her set was due to come to an end Peter appeared beside her and asked her if she had anything to keep going. Beca did, she liked to bring a few backups just in case. So she played until the club closed. As she packed up her lap top and her cords her entire body was still buzzing with adrenaline and the natural high that always came from performing music. The crowd had really liked her, and judging from the number of drinks that people had sent her way, she was a hit.

" You did good tonight." Peter said, he'd wandered the floor and asked around what people thought. It was his usual process when he was thinking about hiring someone new. When everyone had good things to tell him about Beca's set Peter's mind was made up.

" Thanks." Beca said smiling a true and genuine smile.

" Here is your cut for tonight." Peter said handing Beca an envelope that was filled with upwards of five hundred dollars.

" Wow, I wasn't expecting this much." Beca said honestly. She and Peter had talked about wages and that the going rate for a DJ was two hundred. But she was also getting her share of the tips, and the night had been very good to them.

" You earned it. I'll see you next week then. If you still want the job." Peter said with a smile seeing the look of surprise and then the look of joy that crossed over Beca's face.

" Of course I do!"

" Excellent, well we'll figure out the details when you come in some time during the week so we can get you on payroll."

Beca walked out into the night air, given the early hour of almost 2am the air held a crispness to it that made Beca pull her jacket closer around her. There were still a few people that were hanging around outside the club, most of them getting one last smoke in before returning to their cars and going to their homes.

" Becaw!" Beca turned when she heard Jesse's nickname for her. Somehow that had stuck after hood night. " You were amazing!" He said before throwing his arms around her. Normally she would have fought him, Chloe was the only one that she'd found who's hugs didn't make her instantly tense up. But Beca was too high off of performing that she couldn't do anything but hug him back.

" Thanks dork."

" What did Peter say?" Jesse had been the second person that Beca had told about the job offer that Peter had given her after texting Chloe.

" He offered me the job." Beca replied her trademark half smirk turning into a full blown smile.

" Seriously? Beca that is too cool."

" It's really awesome."

" What did Chloe say?" Jesse assumed that she'd told Chloe about the offer, and was curious how the red head had responded. Guessing though that if his reaction had been what Beca considered over the top, Chloe's must have been much more intense.

" She hasn't responded. It is 2am after all." Beca replied slightly disappointed. Not that she was sure what to expect when it came to hearing from Chloe. Chloe hadn't ever been a night owl, but she'd been known to stay up into the early hours of the morning with Beca when they would either be studying or doing other stuff that was far more enjoyable.

" You'll probably hear it tomorrow then. Come on, let's get back to campus." Jesse said offering to grab some of her gear and take it to the car that they'd borrowed from Benji. Most people from campus could walk to the Garage, it's part of what made it so popular. But with all of her gear the idea of walking the several long blocks to campus and then to her dorm was not her idea of a good time.

It wasn't actually until she'd arrived at her dorm that Beca began to feel the exhaustion begin to take over. She was battling her second yawn when she pushed open her dorm room with her shoulder. She'd left her desk lamp on so that she wouldn't have to stumble around in the dark so her room was filled with a dim glow as greeting. But that wasn't what caught Beca's attention.

" Chloe." The name slipped from her mouth before she could even truly register what she was seeing. The redhead that was sitting on her bed turned and when their gazes met smiled so lovingly that Beca had almost forgotten how much she had missed it. She had not expected Chloe to come down from New York. " What are you doing here?"

" You didn't expect me to miss your first gig did you?" Chloe asked with a smile.

" You were there? I didn't see you." Beca was sure she would have remembered seeing her girlfriend's recognizable red hair.

" I was lingering towards the back. I didn't want to distract you. You were amazing Beca." Chloe said finally not being able to take the distance between them and coming to the brunette and wrapping her arms around Beca's smaller frame. Nothing delighted her more than Beca curling into her, moving impossibly closer.

" Thanks. So this is why I didn't hear from you for most of the afternoon." Realization as to why the last text she'd gotten from Chloe was that she was going into a meeting but if she didn't get back to Beca before her gig she wished the brunette good luck. Beca had been mildly insulted when she had gotten that text. But now it made so much more sense.

" Yeah." Chloe answered looking ashamed.

" Definitely worth it." Beca replied pulling Chloe down to meet her lips. Maybe it was because of the time that they had spent apart but both of them took their time re-familiarizing themselves with each other. Chloe's kisses were painstakingly slow, so much so that if Beca hadn't been enjoying it as much as she was she would have pushed Chloe back onto her bed and had her way with the redhead.

And they did eventually move to the bed, once they had thoroughly given each other an "I missed you" kiss. Chloe always seemed to end up the dominant one between them, though she supposed that it was because Beca was more of a reactive person than a proactive one.

Hours later when they had spent each hour relearning each other's bodies the two lay quietly beside each other fighting to regain control of their breathing. Beca was sure she couldn't move if she tried, not that there was anywhere else she wanted to be. Chloe was gazing up at the ceiling, a slightly goofy grin on her face.

" You need to perform every night." Chloe said suddenly, she said it as if she had come to some great revelation.

" Why?" Beca questioned running her fingers up and down Chloe's stomach.

" Because afterwards the sex is…amazing." Chloe replied turning to face Beca, grabbing Beca's hand to stop it. She may have been satisfied many times over but her body still responded to Beca's touch, and she really didn't think she could handle another round.

" I thought it was amazing all the time." Beca pouted, though her eyes showed the teasing nature of her comment.

" Oh it is, but there is definitely something different after you've performed." Chloe replied. Beca had actually taken control of their love making, been the aggressor and it both surprised and pleased Chloe.

" How long do I have you for?" Beca asked, if she only had Chloe for the night then she wanted to spend the entire night awake with Chloe. But if they had time she really wanted to go to sleep.

" I leave on Sunday night."

" I have you for a whole weekend?" Beca asked hopefully. She didn't want to assume that Chloe hadn't made plans with the other Bella's.

" Duh." Chloe replied poking Beca in the ribs.

" Just making sure." Beca said settling onto the pillow and feeling Chloe snuggle next to her.

Beca woke up to the sound of her phone ringing, it danced across her desk each time it vibrated but Beca was content to allow whoever was calling her to go to voicemail. It wasn't like she could answer it if she wanted to, she was pinned down underneath a still slumbering red head. They'd fallen asleep together just as the sun was coming up and slept at least late into the morning if the brightness of the sky was any indication.

" Chlo, wake up." Beca said nudging her girlfriend until she saw Chloe slowly begin to rouse. When Beca was hit with the full force of Chloe's bluer than blue eyes she could only stare at them with a goofy grin on her face.

" Hey." Chloe greeted pressing a kiss to Beca's lips.

" Hi."

" I'm really glad that I'm here."

" Even though it's a dorm room and not your kick ass apartment?" Beca asked as they both began to rouse. Chloe laughed, she had sent Beca pictures of her apartment in New York and Beca had since been convinced that Chloe would be slumming it when she came to visit.

" The company makes up for it."

" Nice recovery. What do you want to do today anyway?" Beca said pulling a sweatshirt over her head. She'd shower later, lounging with Chloe sounded like a much better idea than going into the crowded showers.

" As tempting as spending the entire day in bed sounds. We can do pretty much anything you want. Maybe even go get dinner in town or something."

" Okay."

Beca never realized how quickly 48 hours could pass until that weekend, every hour seemed to pass like only a minute and before they both knew it Beca was driving Chloe to the airport. Something Chloe insisted that she didn't need to do but Beca dismissed it. She would see Chloe off even if she knew that it would kill her.

" I had something I wanted to ask you." Chloe said while they stalled just outside the security line.

" What?" Beca asked looking down at her fingers that were still intertwined with Chloe's.

" I wanted to know if you would be interested in spending a week or two in New York with me at the end of the summer. Give me a chance to show you off to all of my friends." Chloe was sure that most of her co-workers were tired of hearing about Beca. Many of them had told Chloe that they wanted to meet Beca if she ever came up to New York.

" Really?" Beca asked cautiously.

" Totes. It'll be amazing. I'll show you all around and we can spend however long we can together. I'll show you central park, and time square. Maybe even a few of the night clubs." Chloe said already talking about it as if Beca were going.

" Yeah that sounds pretty great."

" Good. We'll start planning it then."

" Good."

The knowledge that they were going to see each other again soon made saying goodbye a little easier than it had been the first time. Though that didn't mean that Chloe didn't cry, and Beca tried desperately not to cry. But still, it was slightly easier.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 –

Present day

Beca couldn't take her eyes off of the bracelet that they had given her to wear, on it had her name and information on it. It linked her to the tiny baby in the NICU bed in front of her, after they had stabilized him the doctors had let her come in and sit next to the bed. She couldn't hold him yet because he was still too weak, but the doctors had explained that he was improving at a very encouraging rate. She hated how he used words like encouraging, and improving because they weren't exactly definite words. She wanted to hear that her son was fine, that he would be okay and the embodiment of perfect health. Beca didn't understand how being vague was meant to comfort her at all.

Her son had a matching bracelet; it linked them telling everyone that he was her son and that he belonged with her. It was indescribable how good it made her feel, she was his mother even if she hadn't given birth to him. Beca winced as the thought crossed her mind, how could she feel good when Chloe was in surgery, she didn't even know how Chloe was doing. Never before had Beca wished that she could be two places at once. Aubrey was keeping her posted via text message but that only made her feel a little bit better.

" Do you want to hold him?" Beca looked up suddenly at the question. She'd been so lost in thought she hadn't even noticed that she wasn't alone anymore. The NICU nurse smiled at Beca with a pep that reminded Beca too much of Chloe.

" Is it okay? I mean…they said that he wasn't strong enough."

" He's improved a lot in the last couple of hours. He's breathing fine and his color has improved a lot since they were last in. We've found that babies respond and heal faster if they are held by a parent." She said as Beca stood, suddenly overcome with nerves.

" I don't know how." Beca said ashamed.

" I'll help you. Go ahead and wash your hands." Beca did as instructed and when she returned the nurse was already holding him. Beca wasn't quite prepared when she put him in her arms, but she molded Beca's arms the way they should be to support his tiny weight. Beca frowned when she realized how light he was, he was a little less than 6lbs. But he was perfect, his eyes still closed but he was absolutely without a doubt the most perfect thing Beca had ever seen.

" See you're a natural." The nurse said watching Beca making sure that she didn't panic or anything. Her name tag said that her name was Jenny.

" You wouldn't happen to know how my wife is doing. She's in surgery and…" Beca stopped, she was already crying but she definitely didn't want to start sobbing.

" I don't know, but let me go see what I can find out. Why don't you sit and hold him for a bit. I'll be right back." Beca was more intimidated to be left alone with him but before she knew it she was alone with him. His eyes were still closed but by the way he was shifting in the blankets he was wrapped in she guessed he wasn't sleeping.

" Hey baby boy. Sorry we don't have a name picked out for you yet. Your mom and I were going to pick one out once we met you. Don't worry though you'll meet her soon." Beca said softly as she started to sway.

**8 years ago**

Chloe greeted Beca in the crowded airport practically running to Beca and almost tackling several people in the process. Throwing her arms around the smaller brunette Chloe couldn't stop the excitement. Beca laughed when she caught Chloe keeping them from falling backward. It had been too long since she had seen her girlfriend and to be honest, she was starting to miss Chloe so much it actually ached. Phone calls were lasting longer and longer, and Beca was even getting to the point where she was blowing off classes just so that she could talk to Chloe.

" I missed you so much." Chloe whispered against Beca's ear, the heat of her breath sending a shiver down Beca's spine. If she had any less restraint she would have pulled Chloe into the nearest bathroom and shown the redhead just how much she missed her. But since she was still mostly a reserved person, at least in public, she could wait until she could be with Chloe properly.

" I missed you too babe." Beca replied squeezing Chloe tightly before releasing her. She wanted a chance to see Chloe fully, take in her girlfriend to see if anything had changed. Aside from Chloe's hair being a tad bit longer nothing about her had changed.

Chloe had a car waiting for them when they left the airport; Beca handed her duffle bag to the driver and let Chloe practically push her into the car. The door had barely closed before Chloe's lips were on Beca's, teeth biting playfully and her tongue taking advantage of Beca's startled gasp. Moving backward into the car Beca pulled Chloe tightly to her, Chloe's kisses were beginning to make it hard for Beca to think clearly. She had no doubt that if left unchecked Chloe would take her in the back of the car. And she was becoming less inclined to stop her.

" Chlo…I think that we might traumatize the driver if we don't stop." Beca offered though she didn't actually push Chloe away. In truth she was hoping that Chloe would have enough will to move away since Beca clearly did not.

" There is a partition." Chloe offered biting against Beca's pulse point and drinking the sweet sounds that the brunette made. Beca hooked her fingers into Chloe's belt loops and used that vantage point to pull Chloe tighter against her body having almost entirely given up on fighting Chloe. It was pointless she couldn't fight against something she wanted so damned much.

Neither of them had noticed that they had started to move until at one stop light and they almost fell off the seats. Pulling away from each other they laughed and finally parted. Sitting up the two took their respective seats and fastened their seat belts. But it wasn't long before Beca felt Chloe's fingers tracing imagined patterns up and down her wrist. By the time they were half way to Chloe's apartment Beca's body was on fire her heart beating at such a fast rate it made her dizzy. Worrying her bottom lip between her teeth Beca watched the streets of New York pass by.

" Amazing isn't it?" Chloe whispered, her breath hot against Beca's ear.

" Yeah." Beca squeaked.

" You okay? You seem tense." Chloe's tone was nothing but mischievous, especially when she felt Chloe's hand slide up her thigh dangerously close to where Beca desperately wanted it.

" Aubrey better not be there when we get to your apartment because I have no intention of behaving." Beca growled shifting slightly to increase Chloe's teasing touch.

" You better not. And she's at work."

Thanking their driver Beca and Chloe took Beca's bags up to Chloe's apartment a place that Beca had only seen glimpses of. Beca knew that Chloe and Aubrey both had pretty well paying jobs but it was Chloe's dad that taken very good care of his daughter. When the door opened Beca looked around, the apartment was modern in its design a lot of shiny granite and steel appliances. But it had warmth that only Chloe could bring to a home.

" Nice." Beca complimented looking around the living room.

" My bedroom is down the hall at the end. I'll be in there, naked and waiting. Come find me when you're done exploring." Chloe said before turning and walking down the hallway before disappearing into her bedroom. When Beca was actually able to walk again she nearly tripped over her feet. When she opened the door to Chloe's room she found Chloe sitting on the bed her shift that had been buttoned up moments ago hanging open revealing her sun kissed skin and her black laced bra.

Closing the door behind her, flipping the lock just for good measure even if she knew Aubrey wouldn't be coming home. Chloe's smile became practically predatory when she pushed herself off the bed and stalked towards Beca. Their mouths met openly and Beca felt her back hit the door none too gently.

" I missed you." Beca whispered against Chloe's lips her blunt finger nails dragging along Chloe's skin and feeling her girlfriend shudder.

" I want you." Chloe replied.

" Bed?" Beca offered, the furniture was less than six feet away from them and promised a great deal more comfort but at the same time seemed strangely far away. If only because Beca couldn't think of anything worse than having to part from Chloe even if for just a moment.

" I had a sexy dream before you got here about taking you against the door." Chloe offered making quick work of the button and the zipper of Beca's jeans. " Do you object?" Chloe asked slipping her hand inside and feeling how ready Beca was.

" God Chloe…" Beca moaned throwing her head back against the door with one hand holding onto the wall to keep from falling and her other hand grasping at Chloe. Feeling Chloe enter her, filling her, Beca's hips jerked forward to meet Chloe's hand while the redhead set a slow rhythm.

" You feel so good."

" More, please." Beca begged bucking into Chloe's hand trying to increase the movement. Pressing their foreheads together Chloe's eyes bore into Beca's watching as the pleasure washed over the younger girl. She would never grow tired of watching as Beca who prided herself on letting nothing affect her crumble and it was all her doing. Feeling the tightening in her stomach Beca knew she wouldn't last much longer. Knowing that Beca was close only increased Chloe's movements setting a nearly frenzied pace that Beca tried desperately to match but couldn't quite.

Pushing the pad of her thumb against Beca's clit the action pushing Beca over the edge. Crying out into the bedroom Beca clutched at Chloe, euphoria surrounding the two of them like a thick cloud. Chloe held Beca while she collected herself, while Beca mumbled half incoherent words that sounded often like they were declarations of love.

" I don't think that I can walk." Beca said looking up at the ceiling above Chloe's bed, feeling Chloe laugh gently beside her she turned to look at her girlfriend.

" Do you have somewhere you need to be?" Chloe asked.

" Never. I belong right here." Beca stated turning to lay on her side taking in Chloe's breathtaking appearance and the golden light of Chloe's bedside lamp illuminating them both.

" Yes you do."

Silence reclaimed the bedroom comfortable letting both enjoy spending the time together.

" I mean it." Beca offered after probably a half an hour had passed.

" What?" Chloe asked curiously, her attention had been on her joined hands with Beca and the patterns she was writing. She'd probably written the word titanium probably a dozen times.

" That I belong here with you." Beca insisted.

" One day, when you are done with school." Beca wanted to protest, the fact was she wanted to move to New York and be with Chloe.

" So what are the plans for this week?" Beca asked changing the subject she didn't want to bring down the mood of their first day together.

" I don't really. I figure I would show you the best things about New York."

" You mean you aren't it?" Beca asked looking truly confused, when Chloe looked up at Beca she finally let the façade crack and she laughed.

" Look at you being all charming. I love you."

" I love you too."

Beca woke the next morning wrapped in Chloe's blankets and Chloe and it was the first time that she woke up and she didn't wish that she could go back to sleep. She woke up wanting to actually experience the day not just survive it. Chloe had broken her. Chloe woke when Beca did and with sleepy eyes and disheveled hair she smiled at Beca.

" Morning." Cementing the statement with a kiss. Chloe sat up and grabbed the closest clothing item that she could and Beca was surprisingly pleased that it was her shirt. Beca had always thought that it was cliché for girls to grab their boyfriends shirts and wear them, and then their boyfriends would say that it was incredibly sexy to have their girlfriends wear their shirts. Beca used to think it was misogynistic. But then she saw Chloe wearing her shirt and then it all made sense.

" Why are we getting up? It's not even 10 yet." Beca groaned looking at the clock.

" Well you can't exactly spend your entire time in bed. As fun as that would sound." Chloe said throwing some of Beca's clothes at her. The two got dressed and Beca followed Chloe out of her bedroom and down the hall where Beca was surprised to see Aubrey sipping coffee and reading the paper. She'd assumed that Aubrey would be at work.

" Hey Beca." Aubrey greeted with what looked to be a genuine smile. Beca returned the smile and said her own greeting back.

" Aubrey took a few days off so that we could all hang out together." Chloe offered as an explanation to why the blonde was home.

" You never did tell me what we're doing today."

" Well, I figured we'd introduce you to the city. Some of my work friends want to meet you but I won't throw you at them yet." Chloe said handing Beca a steaming mug of coffee made just the way that she liked it.

" Much appreciated, but I'll meet them if you want me to."

" Dinner tonight then?" Chloe asked. Beca didn't see Aubrey shaking her head trying to warn Chloe that such a thing might be a bad idea. Chloe had amassed several close friends from work though they weren't as close as the Bella's had been they were the next best thing. Seeing Aubrey giving her a look Chloe only quirked an eyebrow. She didn't see how Beca meeting her work friends was a bad thing. Chloe had been pretty open about her relationship with Beca when she started working, and a lot of them were curious about Beca and their relationship. When Chloe had first mentioned that Beca was coming to town it had been their idea to meet up.

" I'm going to go take a shower." Beca said kissing Chloe on the cheek before heading towards the bathroom. Once they were alone Chloe turned to Aubrey confusion marring her face.

" What is wrong with you?" Aubrey demanded in a hushed voice that didn't seem to lessen the severity of her tone.

" What are you talking about?"

" You're going to make her meet your work friends? Allison and Gretchen are going to eat her alive." Aubrey couldn't say that she was overly fond of Chloe's co-workers but when they all went out Aubrey didn't have a terrible time.

" They are sweet girls and they have been bugging me about meeting Beca since they found out she was coming up for the week. It's just dinner and then maybe we'll hit one of the clubs or something." Chloe tried to explain still trying to understand the bad.

" And I get it you want to introduce her to your world. Just be careful." Aubrey warned.

New York was truly a magical city, Beca fell in love with it almost immediately it was so busy and everything was going a million miles an hour. They took the subway into the heart of downtown and time square, having lunch along 5th Avenue and Chloe even managed to get Beca into a few of the shops. Aubrey thought it was cute that Beca let Chloe hold her hand but whenever Aubrey looked at them for too long Beca would let go of Chloe's hand and mumble something about not wanting Aubrey to feel like the third wheel. Aubrey hadn't thought that the relationship Beca and Chloe had would stand the distance but was happy that it did. Despite her early hesitations on her best friends choice in partner Aubrey had to admit that Beca was as good for Chloe as Chloe was for her.

Walking into the restaurant that they were due to meet Chloe's co-workers Beca was beginning to feel a little nervous. These were Chloe's friends, with the Bella's it was different those girls were all mutual friends, they had things in common. Now the only thing that Beca had in common with these girls was Chloe. But at least Aubrey had agreed to come along so that Beca wouldn't be completely on her own.

" Chloe!" the trio turned when they heard the high pitched call, seeing two girls waving enthusiastically in their direction Chloe led them to the booth.

" Hey guys! You guys remember Aubrey and this is Beca. Beca this is Gretchen and Allison." Beca felt like she was on display and her admirers weren't sure if they liked what they were looking at.

" This is Beca." Allison said with a bright smile.

" It's so nice to finally meet you. Chloe talks about you at work." Gretchen added as the three sat down joining the other two.

" It's nice to meet you guys." Beca said only Aubrey noted the same tone that Beca had used when Beca had first met Chloe and Aubrey at the activities fair. When she was being sarcastic and dismissive, but if Chloe noticed she didn't make any note of it.

Things started to go downhill quickly after that, though much to Beca's credit she didn't show it. In truth, Beca didn't think that Chloe realized what she was doing, that she fell into familiar conversations with Allison and Gretchen about people that Beca didn't know, experiences Beca hadn't had. Occasionally Chloe would remember to explain to Beca who these people were or why they were important but more often than not Beca just looked back and forth following the conversation. When she excused herself to the bathroom Beca found herself lingering in the foyer of the bathroom on the couch not in any hurry to return to the table.

" This is where you escaped to." Looking up Beca saw Aubrey walking towards her.

" Sorry, just needed a minute to collect myself." Beca said standing, brushing her hands against her jeans.

" They can be a lot, I know."

" Are they always like this?"

" A lot of the time yes. They don't mean it, they just get caught up in their lives. It doesn't make them bad people."

" I know, I didn't say they were. I just forget I guess that she has a life here now. A whole world that is separate from me. When we were at school we had the same friends now she has them and I'm not entirely sure where I fit with them." Beca couldn't believe that she was showing this level of vulnerability with Aubrey her one time mortal enemy.

" Well you still have me."

" Thanks."

" Come on, they're going to notice we're gone eventually." Aubrey suggested leading Beca back to their table.

" Hey where'd you guys go?" Chloe asked reaching for Beca's hand, Beca smiled at the affectionate touch.

" Got lost talking." Aubrey answered for her.

" Everything okay?" Chloe whispered against Beca' ear. Beca nodded, even if she had doubts that it was, for that moment things were okay.

* * *

 

" What did you tell Chloe to make her stay in the apartment?" Beca asked astounded that Aubrey had somehow managed to convince Chloe that there was something that the two of them needed to do without Chloe, all of this without telling Chloe what they were doing.

" I told her that I needed to have some time with you by myself. Seeing as how you're the new captain of the Bella's and well…you'll need my help." Aubrey explained while they walked amidst the sea of people.

" Genius."

" I have my moments. So what are we looking for exactly?" Aubrey asked, Beca had been more than vague when it came to what they were actually shopping for. But Aubrey had a pretty good idea.

" I want to get Chloe a promise ring. Its lame I know, but I'm too young to actually propose." Beca explained looking in the windows. She'd been saving like mad to find a way to pay for something really nice for Chloe.

" I thought you were anti-marriage."

" I am."

" Beca, things like these they make a bigger statement than just a promise to be faithful. It implies that you intend to propose in the future."

" I just want to get her something that she can have that reminds her how much I love her, when I'm not here to do it myself." Beca explained sure that she sounded stupid but Aubrey just looked at her with slightly teary eyes.

" That's really sweet Beca."

" Don't act so surprised." Beca said as they turned into their first stop. " Do you think its stupid?"

" Not at all, I think that she'll really love it." Aubrey said as they walked towards the glass cases that were full of all sorts of sparkly things. Beca didn't know exactly what she was looking for, only that she was looking for something that didn't look like an engagement ring while maintaining the significance of what she was trying to do.

" Is there something I can help you ladies find?" The clerk asked standing behind one of the counters smiling brightly.

" I'm looking for a promise ring for my girlfriend." Beca said looking around the display.

" Are you looking for something that might imitate an engagement ring or did you want something that can also stand alone?" Beca expected that she might get some judgment about the fact that she was a buying a promise ring for a woman. But the clerk seemed unfazed by the detail.

" I think something separate."

" Do you want a matching pair?" Beca looked to Aubrey hoping that she might find some help there. Aubrey took over after that and took over the conversation asking to see a collection of all the promise rings that they had.

It didn't take long, Beca found the ring she was looking for the moment she saw it. Grasping the white gold ring Beca picked it up for closer inspection, it was perfect. Looking back at Aubrey and showing it to the blonde for a second approval.

" It's a Claddagh ring. They are Irish commitment rings. The hands holding the heart represent friendship, the heart is obviously love, and the crown represents loyalty. Traditionally it's meant as an engagement ring but more commonly now they are used for several different purposes." The clerk explained, Beca had seen the ring before on people and the story behind it sounded vaguely familiar.

" Do you think it's too cliché?" Beca asked nervously. Aubrey shook her head, Beca had good taste and Chloe would absolutely love it.

" I think it's perfect."

" Excellent."

* * *

 

" What did you guys do all day? I mean you guys were gone for hours!" Chloe said still baffled that the two women had spent the better part of the afternoon together and they were still getting along when they returned.

" We just went and did a little shopping and we talked about the Bella's. Seriously, that woman is never going to give over the reins of the girls while she still breaths." Beca replied following Chloe into the bedroom. They had a few hours before they were due to go out to dinner with Chloe's family.

" You went shopping with Aubrey? I can't even drag you into a store." Chloe's interest was definitely peaked as to why Beca had agreed to go shopping with Aubrey. Beca smiled affectionately knowing that her girlfriend was feeling a little bit left out.

" It was something to do while we talked."

" We're supposed to be at my parents at 7." Chloe informed while she opened her closet and looked at what she was going to wear while Beca lounged on the bed and watched. Chloe would look good in anything and Beca took every opportunity to tell the red head that but still Chloe enjoyed getting dressed up and did so whenever there was occasion for it.

" It's only 4:30." Beca offered.

Beca reached into her hoodie pocket and felt the box that waited there, she didn't know when she was going to give the ring to Chloe. There should be some sort of special moment for it, but Beca was terrible at things like that. She didn't do romance, she simply did what she did and hoped that it was enough.

Resting her head on her hand Beca watched Chloe as she moved around the room, not doing anything special just going about her normal routine and Beca would almost say she fell in love with Chloe again in that moment. Not to say she was ever out of love with Chloe, but the feeling was so new and unlike all the other moments that they'd shared before. Beca had always hated the idea of love, she'd hated what it did to people and how it seemed to be able to destroy even the strongest of people. She never understood how people sought it out so desperately only to find it and realize that it made them miserable. Now she understood it.

" Hey." Beca said getting Chloe's attention. Chloe looked over her shoulder at Beca the ever present smile shining in Chloe's eyes. She would smile for anyone, as she tried to explain to the usually frowning or serious Beca, that every deserves a smile.

" What?" Chloe inquired turning after seeing a look on Beca's face that she hadn't seen before. Most people would say that Beca had two facial expressions, sarcastic and brooding. She just didn't emote much because she kept everything under so many different layers and filters. Chloe had learned to read the subtleties of her girlfriends looks. This one was new.

" Come here." Beca requested holding a hand out to Chloe and waiting for her to take it.

" What's wrong?" Chloe asked sitting on the bed next to Beca while the brunette shifted so that her head was resting on Chloe's lap.

" Nothing, I just wanted to be close to you."

" Yeah? Well I always want to be close to you. What are you thinking about? You look like you have a thought lingering on your mind." Chloe commented, she didn't ever pry she only ever extended the option for Beca to talk to her about what was bothering her.

" A lot of things. It's nothing big just thinking about things." Beca replied.

" You are the queen of vague."

" It's a talent."

" Among your many others." Chloe looked at Beca with a look of pure adoration and love that it almost made Beca want to look away if it weren't for the fear that if she did she would look back and find that the look was gone.

" I was thinking about us." Beca said after several minutes of silence.

" What about us?" Chloe asked cautiously. She hadn't to admit it but when it came to Beca a small part of her always wondered if Beca would get spooked and run. So when Beca made comments about thinking about the two of them Chloe couldn't help but worry.

" Nothing bad."

" Okay, so what were you thinking?" Chloe asked curiously. Beca's hand once again found the ring box. It seemed like as good a time as any. Sitting up Beca turned to look at Chloe her hair falling in front of her face.

" That I love you."

" I love you too." Chloe said when she sensed that Beca wasn't going to say anything else.

" I got something for you today." Beca said producing the box for Chloe to see, hearing Chloe's sharp gasp at the sight of the box. " Don't freak out, it's not what you think it is." Beca offered quickly seeing the hesitation in Chloe's eyes. Chloe tentatively reached for the pale blue box and opened it slowly.

" Oh my god." Chloe whispered taking in the white gold ring out of the box and looking at it closer.

" It's a promise ring."

" It's a Claddagh ring." Chloe looked up at Beca.

" Yeah, you know what each part symbolizes?"

" Tell me again." Chloe requested while she slid it onto her right ring finger and let Beca take her hand.

" The heart represents my love for you, the hands our friendship, and the crown represents loyalty." Beca explained running over the contours of the ring. Chloe wore it with the heart pointed inward.

" It's beautiful Beca." Chloe said her eyes were shiny with tears, she didn't think Beca realized the true depth of how what she had done had meant to her. No one she had ever dated had ever given her jewelry unless it had been because they had messed up or it was like Valentine 's Day and they were supposed to.

" Chloe, you know I don't believe in marriage. I never have and I probably never will. But I do know that I want to be with you for as long as you'll have me. And I wanted you to have this, to remind you of that when I'm back at Barden and you're here."

" I love you." Chloe accentuated with a tender kiss.

" I love you too."

* * *

 

Chloe's parents had an apartment in the city but whenever they had family dinners those were reserved for their estate. Beca walked up the driveway, practically dragged by Chloe up to the door. Barbara opened the door and before Beca could even utter a greeting she had two arms thrown around her so tightly Beca found she couldn't breathe.

" Girls I'm so glad you're here! Beca darling how are you finding New York?" Barbara asked ushering them inside.

" Hi Barbara how are you doing?" Barbara asked trying not to look around the giant house. It was like walking into a hotel, Beca had never seen a house so big.

" I'm well, I'm well. Chloe will you show her around. I'm going to go check on dinner." Barbara said after showing them to the sitting room. Once they were alone Beca looked over at Chloe her eyes wide.

" Seriously Chloe I knew you had money but this is a little crazy."

" It's a little wild. But don't worry, these are still the same people you met when they came to Barden I promise. Don't let all this..." Chloe said gesturing wildly around. " …affect what you think of them."

Beca didn't have a chance to say anything before Connor ran into the sitting room and enveloped first Chloe and then Beca in a tight hug. It was so weird being welcomed into their family like she belonged there, they had accepted her in ways that her own father never did.

After dinner when the group had fragmented in their own factions Beca was dragged outside with Connor and Victor while Chloe helped Barbara in the kitchen. Barbara couldn't help but notice the ring that had appeared on Chloe's finger and wanted to ask but she didn't want to mention it in front of Victor for fear that Beca would simply die from all the attention that was turned her way.

" So Chloe I couldn't help but notice that lovely addition to your jewelry collection." Barbara said seeing Chloe pause and then smile the million megawatt smile that could light up an entire room. " Looks like your girl is willing to start settling down."

" Yeah I think she might be." Chloe offered. She'd talked at length with her mother when it came to Beca and her seemingly incurable phobia of marriage and commitment and moving their relationship past dating to something a little more serious.

" Good, you let me know when I need to start planning a wedding."

Beca really wasn't sure if she should be terrified or not, she felt like, given the situation she should be utterly petrified. But sitting on the patio with Victor and Connor talking about Chloe wasn't that bad. From what Beca could gather about Victor in their limited interaction the Beale patriarch was old fashioned. He accepted the lifestyle that both Chloe and Beca found themselves in but still, he was the father of her girlfriend.

" So Beca, what are your intentions towards Chloe?" Victor asked his eyes unblinking while he waited for her answer.

" My intentions?"

" Yes your intentions. She's my daughter that means that if you disrespect her in any way I am well within my rights to hunt you down." Victor said in an utterly serious tone, at first Beca expected he might be joking. No one gives a speech like that anymore but when she didn't see Connor smiling she knew he was serious. And worse, Connor was nodding his agreement to what Victor was saying.

" I'm not going to hurt her." Beca offered meekly.

" Excellent."

" So Beca, when is it that you leave?" Connor asked chiming into the conversation and thankfully changing the subject.

" The day after tomorrow."

" Have you given any thought to moving closer up here? Be with Chloe full time?" Victor asked, having gone through a long distance relationship with Barbara when they were younger he knew how much it took out of a couple to have to rely so heavily on technology to communicate instead of being able to see each other and touch each other. Not that he wanted to think about Chloe touching _anybody_ he still wasn't naïve either.

" I think I want to give Barden another go, see if I can manage there for a bit. But yeah I think after that I'll see about transferring to a school here." Beca answered, she'd thought way too much about it since she had come to New York. She'd fallen in love with the city and New York had Chloe.

" I admire that. Sticking to your commitments."

" Thanks."

Feeling arms circle around her neck Beca looked up and found that Chloe and Barbara had finished in the kitchen and had come to see what they were doing.

" You ready to go?" Chloe asked as the night wore on.

" Sure."

" Well Beca, have a safe trip back to Barden and don't be a stranger alright?" Victor said shaking Beca's hand, it was the equivalent of a hug and the significance wasn't lost on Beca.

" I won't, thanks again for dinner."

Beca knew Chloe wasn't sleeping, even though it was well after midnight and edging closer to 1 in the morning. She had to be up early but she really didn't want to sleep and not waste a minute of time she had left with Chloe. She could feel Chloe's fingers dancing along her rib cage.

" Here I am waiting, I'll have to leave soon. Why am I holding on? We knew this day would come, we knew it all along. How did it come so fast? This is our last night but it's late and I'm trying not to sleep. Cause I know, when I wake, I will have to slip away." Beca started singing, Chloe shifted and looked up at Beca sure enough she hadn't been sleeping, Beca did have a beautiful voice.

" And when the daylight comes I'll have to go. But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close. Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own. But tonight I need to hold you so close.

" Here I am staring at your perfection. In my arms, so beautiful. The sky is getting bright, the stars are burning out. Somebody slow it down. This is way too hard, cause I know when the sun comes up, I will leave. This is my last glance that will soon be memory."

" I'll come down to Barden in a few months for a long weekend." Chloe promised.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Present Day

Beca turned when the door to the NICU opened; her son was sleeping peacefully in her arms blissfully unaware of the turmoil concerning both his parents. Looking behind her Beca saw Barbara standing at the door, her hand covering her mouth and tears glistening in her eyes at the sight.

" How's Chloe?" Beca asked hearing the hoarseness of her voice.

" Still in surgery."

" But she's going to be okay right?" Beca inquired though she knew Barbara couldn't know that. That wasn't the point, Beca was looking for the kind of reassurance only a mother could provide.

" Chloe is strong and in the best hands she could be in." Barbara said. She was worried beyond words for her daughter but she could see that Beca was slowly crumbling. She looked beyond exhausted, she had probably been awake for at least 24 hours if not more. " How's he doing?"

" They say that he's doing really well for a premature baby. He'll probably be able to go see Chloe when…well when she's out of surgery." Beca said having memorized the speech the doctors kept giving her.

" That's great. Can I hold him?" Barbara asked expecting Beca to be hesitant but the brunette nodded and allowed Barbara to take him. Beca hadn't realized how her arms were cramping until she was able to stretch.

" How are you holding up?" Beca asked forgetting, though she wasn't really sure how it was possible to, that it was Chloe's mother she was talking to. It was selfish to think that Barbara wasn't suffering just as much as she was.

" We're worried about everyone, but you shouldn't worry about us." Barbara answered already smittened by the baby she held.

" Can't really help it." Beca said with a small smile running her hands over her face Beca sat down on the rocking chair.

" How are you holding up dear?" Barbara asked. From what she knew about Beca, and after almost a decade Beca was as much her daughter as Chloe, she knew Beca was barely holding things together. But the brunette wasn't going to say anything. She was more the suffer in silence type, even I she did crumble no one would see her do it. Chloe was the only one that Beca felt truly comfortable being vulnerable with.

" I…I don't know. I can't wrap my mind around what's happening. It wasn't supposed to be like this you know? Chloe kept saying how wondering it would be. And now, now I might lose her and that…I can't" Beca stopped, swallowing a sob and wiping furiously at the tears forbidding them from falling.

" You aren't going to lose her Beca."

" We don't know that. I can't do this without her. I can't be a parent without her."

" Beca, sweetheart, you can't let yourself think about that. Going down that road will only make waiting more unbearable." Barbara offered, she'd given the same speech to Victor not long before.

" I can't think of anything else. I've tried."

" Think about your son. This little miracle and how he's doing." Beca took her son back and watched him shift in his sleep and she nodded. She could try and do that.

The second time the door to the NICU opened both Beca and Barbara turned to see one of the nurses standing there. It was the same nurse that Beca had sent to find out how Chloe was doing, and Beca couldn't read her expression.

" Well?" Beca asked finally after what felt like an eternity of silence.

" She's…"

**2 Months after New York –**

" Please don't be mad Beca." The words registered in Beca's mind but only just barely, Beca was still trying to process the last words Chloe said. That paired with trying to convince her heart to continue beating, Beca needed a minute. She couldn't look at Chloe's face knowing that her wide, bright eyes were looking at her so desperately.

" To be mad would mean that I would need to understand. I can't…I mean…why Chloe? What happened?" Beca asked her voice breaking as a sob tried to escape before she could suppress it.

" You know why Beca, this is the first time we've Skyped in almost a month, we text but more often than not it's a voice mail because I'm working or you're in class or with the Bella's. It isn't working." Chloe offered, she didn't know how she had the courage to keep her voice so steady, for the past few days she'd been trying to work up the nerve to have this conversation. She'd made herself sick over it. But it was destroying them and Chloe couldn't let that happen.

" We knew that might happen Chloe. How can you break up with me over something that we knew would happen?"

" I knew it was a possibility but I didn't know that it would hurt so much. Beca I love you, you know that I do. But I don't want to risk our friendship or any chance we have at still speaking to each other by allowing this…whatever this is to continue on." Chloe said hoping that she might be making some sense to Beca. When Beca fell back against her chair defeated Chloe knew that she was at least making sense to Beca.

" Let me come up to New York and we can talk about this." Beca pleaded.

" No, Beca don't do that."

" Why?"

" Because if you do then when you're here we'll both forget how much this hurts, we'll remember how good it feels to be together and that will just tear us apart more. I don't want to do this baby, but one of us has to." Chloe whispered seeing Beca look away and brush furiously at her tears.

" Chloe please don't do this." Beca pleaded though she had promised herself that she never would she was begging Chloe to stay with her. She would have to be an idiot to not see how good Chloe was for her, she was actually happy for the first time in a long time and she really didn't want to lose that.

" This isn't forever Beca. And we're not breaking up, we're just taking a break. We're just going to go back to being friends until we can be together again full time okay?"

" So we're not dating but still in a relationship Chloe I don't understand." Beca wasn't afraid of pleading ignorance on this one. The prospect really didn't make sense to her, how could they be taking a break from their relationship but not break up?

" It's like…putting it on hold until we're ready to be together full time. You made me promise that if things started getting to the point where our friendship was in danger then we would step back and focus on our friendship remember?" Beca deflated, she thought that if either of them would be using that excuse then it would be her.

" I don't want to not be with you Chloe. Even if we're not physically in the same state I like waking up and knowing that you're my girlfriend. I like going through my day knowing that I might cross your mind and make you smile. God Chloe, please I am begging you. Don't do this." Beca laid it all out trying to connect with Chloe over Skype the way that she could when they were together. Sometimes a glance, lingering or fleeting it didn't matter, in a glance she would be able to speak the volumes that she was afraid to.

" Beca…"

" There are only two reasons why we shouldn't be together anymore. The first is if you don't love me anymore. The other is if there was someone else. Anything other than that we can fix this Chloe." Beca argued. Never could she have imagined that she would be fighting for a relationship instead of being the one that was running from it. Chloe had always told her that no matter how hard Beca pushed Chloe would always be right there, ready to push back. Beca had to know what had changed.

" I do still love you. And there isn't anyone else. But Beca you have to admit that what we've got going right now isn't working." Nodding her agreement Beca closed her eyes, she wasn't going to win this argument.

" We'll try it out. Give it to the ICCA's when you come to New York."

" You're giving up on us Chloe, you realize that don't you? You're doing exactly what you promised you wouldn't do when you convinced me to do this with you." There was no more pain in Beca's voice, it had been replaced solely by anger and bitterness.

" Don't be like this Beca."

" Be like what? If you want to end things then fine, let's end them. But let's not pretend that things can just magically go back to how they were before. They can't. Goodbye Chloe."

" Beca wait…" Beca slammed the lid of her lap top down effectively cutting short the conversation. For several long minutes Beca sat frozen, the reality of what had just happened slowly sinking in. She and Chloe had just broken up, somewhere in the midst of the hollowness that Beca felt begin consuming her she felt her heart break. It would be cliché to say that her heart simply broke, people who describe it don't do justice to the pain that follows. Every breath hurt worse than the one before that, the jagged pieces that were left of Beca's heart cut into her insides every time she inhaled.

The saying goes 'time heals all wounds' but Beca found no comfort in the following day, or the one after that or even after that. Every day drug on with no respite. Everyone noticed it but was too afraid to ask, Chloe's name had become taboo even though Beca tried to play off that it didn't bother her to talk about the redhead. They were all friends, or had been once but many of the Bella's stated that they were willing to side with Beca and never speak to Chloe again. But that wasn't what Beca wanted. Jesse and Cynthia Rose became the only sanity that Beca had left, when Jesse wasn't around Cynthia Rose was mostly because they were afraid of what Beca might do. Nothing intentional, Beca was depressed there was little doubt about it but she wasn't suicidal. She was however self-destructive.

**The ICCA's**

" You don't have to come Chloe." Chloe looked up from her tea at Aubrey surprised at her friend's statement. Not going to the ICCA's had never been an option no matter how she had left things with Beca.

" What are you talking about?" Chloe asked trying to appear like her old self.

" I know you didn't leave things on great terms with Beca." That was an understatement, they hadn't spoken since their last conversation. Beca didn't return Chloe's phone calls or text messages, the only news that Chloe had about Beca was what she could manage to get out of the Bella's. And even that wasn't much, most of them didn't want to talk to Chloe out of loyalty to their new captain. If it weren't her that was being frozen out Chloe would have been proud of their protectiveness.

" Regardless, I'm going to go and support the Bella's because that's what we agreed we would do." Chloe stated firmly.

" Okay."

While Chloe was nervous about the reunion with Beca, unsure how things might go between them, Beca was absolutely dreading it. She'd managed to pull herself out of her self-destruction enough to put together a workable set for their performances. The Bella's and mixing became the only things in her life that had any meaning. She'd practically given up on school, the classes that she wasn't completely flunking she was only lingering around a C average because the instructors were taking pity on her.

Still, her internal misery did provide her with plenty of inspiration for her music. The Garage had never been more successful and Beca was getting calls from other clubs that wanted new talent.

" And the winners of this year's ICCA Championship are…defending champions THE BARDEN BELLA'S!" The announcer bellowed from his spot on stage and the entire crowd erupted in cheers. Beca couldn't help the rush of delight that filled her knowing that they'd won again, that last year hadn't just been some fluke. As captain she should have claimed the trophy for her team but she let the other girls do it. She had no more desire to be on stage anymore, not knowing who was sitting somewhere in the crowd.

They were due to go to the celebration party that started a few hours after the competition. As Aubrey had told her the year before it was required for the champions to at least put in an appearance. But they had all decided that they were going to meet up with Chloe and Aubrey first, after convincing everyone that she could handle it Beca was sure that many of them were only agreeing to go so that they could see what happened between Chloe and Beca first hand.

Beca had escaped to the bathroom needing collect her thoughts and steel herself for the confrontation that was about to happen. Splashing water on her face Beca looked at her own reflection, she was paler than usual but the makeup that she'd put on for the performance hid that. And she'd lost a good deal of weight, her appetite had become almost non-existent. The door to the bathroom opened and Beca saw Jesse through his reflection leaning against the wall.

" This is the girl's bathroom." Beca teased a practiced smirk pulling at her face.

" Thanks I noticed that." Jesse replied unaffected by Beca's jab.

" Sorry we kicked your asses again." Beca said turning around and leaning against the counter.

" It's alright, I'll try not to cry myself to sleep."

" What're you doing in here?"

" I wanted to check on you. I know that tonight…well it'll be a rough one."

" I'm fine, for the millionth time I'm fine. Everyone keeps expecting me to shatter the second I see her. It's been six months I think I'm over it." Beca was lying through her teeth and they both knew it.

" Beca its okay to still be affected. She was your first love it's supposed to affect you."

" Is."

" What?"

" Is my first love, _was_ implies I've stopped." Beca corrected her gaze shifting to the tile floor that was surprisingly clean for a public restroom.

" Beca…"

" Not this lecture again. I get it, it's over and I should try and move on. I got it the first dozen times we've been through this." Beca said knowing that Jesse would give her the same lecture again and again if he thought that it would help.

" I don't expect you to stop loving her. I just don't think it is healthy how stubbornly you refuse to move on." Jesse said kindly crossing the distance between them as if he were intending to take her in his arms but at the last minute he hesitated.

" I have to go, the girls are waiting. We're still on for tomorrow right?"

" I'll be there."

" Last chance to back out, I won't hold it against you." Beca knew that Jesse wouldn't. At first she'd been afraid that he still held a torch for her, that he might be following her under some sort of attempt to woo her again. But the more time she spent with him the more she became confident that it wasn't like that. The only love he felt for her was brotherly. They were best friends, he'd been there to drag her out of the depths, and he never gave up on her even when she had turned to harsh insults and words meant to hurt he always came back and let her vent out her pain upon him.

" I'll be there." He replied nodding as a way of reaffirming his words.

They walked out together, Beca was due to meet them in the lobby and Jesse needed to go through the lobby to get back to his hotel. Beca saw Chloe before Chloe saw her, the red hair was difficult to miss. Chloe was smiling, the pure joy that Beca had come to associate with Chloe. She didn't look any different really, her hair was a little bit longer than Beca had remembered it but how much did she expect Chloe to change in six months?

When her presence was known conversation stopped and everyone looked at her. They had all changed out of their outfits and were now dressed in clothes meant to be out partied in. Beca caught Cynthia Rose's gaze first and then to Aubrey who had sobered but still maintained the pride that she felt for the Bella's.

" Congratulations Beca." Aubrey said actually hugging Beca the movement surprised everyone but Beca most of all.

" Thanks I had a good teacher." Beca offered.

" This is true." That was the arrogance that Beca was used to with Aubrey. Somehow it put her at ease, knowing that something's didn't change.

And then, even after she had put it off as long as she did Beca had to look at Chloe. She didn't know how looking into the eyes she'd tried desperately to forget would affect her, or that it would almost knock her off her feet. For several moments Beca couldn't breathe, she felt dizzy and light headed, wanting to run but couldn't move. Chloe was looking at her a kind of uncertainty that seemed so completely out of character for Chloe.

" Hi." Beca heard Chloe say breaking the more than awkward silence that had surrounded them. The Bella's were giving the two of them space while still staying close enough to hear all of the details of what was said.

" Hi." Beca said finally. She wasn't prepared for this, not for how seeing Chloe again would affect her. She wanted to be angry still, like she had been for so much of the time that had passed since their break up. But she wasn't, she just felt drained.

" You guys did really good tonight, I knew that we left the Bella's in good hands." Chloe thought sticking to the reason that they were there would be a good place to start.

" Apparently, it was a group effort though."

" Of course." Chloe looked passed Beca towards the girls that were making no secret of watching them and knowing Beca the way that she did Beca wasn't going to have any sort of serious conversation with an audience. " Wanna go for a walk?"

" Sure." Beca followed Chloe outside into the welcome of the night air. There were still people around the entrance that had been in the audience for the competition, luckily none of them tried to stop Beca. She'd already dodged an interview with Gail and John and she was in no hurry to have someone else try and get the answers they seemed so hell bent on getting.

For several blocks they walked silently, both of them with a million different things to say and not having a clue how to actually say them. There was none of the peace that usually came when they spent time together, no comfort or calm that Beca had come to associate with Chloe. Now things just felt so forced.

" I don't hate you." Beca said suddenly, stopping when they reached the corner. If they went any further Beca was sure that one of two things would happen. Either she would combust from all the things that she wanted to say or hear from Chloe, or they would venture into an area that was not smart for them to wander around.

" Are you sure? Because I would understand if you did." Chloe said.

" You didn't do anything wrong. I just…didn't handle things well. After all you were just doing what I asked you to do right?" Beca offered with a shrug. She was surprised with how well she could pull off nonchalant. Outwardly appearing that being this close to Chloe and actually speaking to her wasn't stirring up all sorts of feelings that she didn't want to have.

" I still wish that it hadn't happened."

" Don't." Beca said quickly watching Chloe stumble over whatever words might have fallen from her lips.

" What?"

" If you say that you wish things hadn't happened that way then it would just complicate and confuse things. As it is now, we're broken up. We can't change that." Beca stated firmly.

" Okay, sorry." Chloe knew Beca well enough to know that Beca was being this way on purpose. Beca's walls were back up, Chloe wished that it would be as easy to bulldoze through them like she had when they first met. But she guessed that it wasn't going to be that easy.

" How are things? Work, the family?" Beca asked after a few minutes.

" Works good, busy but good. My family is crazy as usual but they are also good. Connor asks about you sometimes."

" Yeah he texted me a couple of days ago." Beca would consider Connor to be a friend but she also figured that Connor was Chloe's brother so she didn't really expect to stay in touch with him.

" To wish you luck for the ICCA's?" Chloe assumed.

" No actually, he was wishing me luck for LA." Beca replied. She hadn't known how she was going to tell Chloe that she was leaving for LA. Part of her didn't even want to tell Chloe.

" LA?" Chloe managed to force the words, it came out as a question but there was really nothing to question. Beca was going to LA like she'd always dreamed of doing but had held off when they were still dating so that she could be closer to Chloe.

" Yeah I fly out tomorrow morning. Jesse's coming with me and I think Cynthia Rose is too, both of them are going to college route though." Beca had been surprised when Cynthia Rose had asked how Beca felt about her tagging along, but really she had been relieved to know that there was someone else that she knew. The three of them were planning on sharing an apartment.

" Tomorrow morning? That's fast."

" No time like the present right?"

" Were you going to tell me?" Chloe challenged.

" Probably not."

" You were just going to leave without telling me? I thought that we were friends still, we promised that we would always be friends." Chloe reminded though she knew that there were probably a dozen arguments that Beca could think up against that fact but Beca remained silent while she pondered the question.

" You realize you make it sound like it was easy for me to cut you out of my life. For you to not be my person anymore. So yeah, I didn't tell you because I wasn't really sure if you would care." Beca saw the hurt wash over Chloe's face like she had physically struck the redhead and for a moment Beca thought about apologizing. A big part of Beca wanted to hurt Chloe and Beca only felt worse when for wanting that.

" Of course I care Beca! How could you think that I don't?" They came to a bench and sat down watching the cars as they drove passed. Even as it approached midnight New York never really stopped moving. Chloe's gaze never wavered while she waited for Beca to answer as Beca ran through her hand through her hair. It was a nervous tick that she did when she was struggling with something that was emotional in nature.

" And it's not fair that you're still wearing that." Beca said pointing at the ring that hadn't left Chloe's finger since Beca had given it to her. " That was a promise that we would always be together. But we aren't together anymore, you broke up with me. So you shouldn't wear that!" Beca fumed, she felt a little bit like a little kid throwing a temper tantrum and knew that she probably looked ridiculous doing it. Chloe spun the band around her finger, a habit that she had gotten into when she missed Beca.

" Do you really want me to take it off Beca?" Chloe asked, and she would. The act alone would probably kill her but she would if that's what Beca needed her to do. But Beca just sat back on the bench deflated, defeated, and practically all the fight gone from her.

" No."

" Please Beca, I don't want our last conversation to be a fight. We've done enough of that already haven't we?"

" Yeah but we used to be able to have make up sex when we fought before." Beca grumbled trying to be lighthearted. When Chloe laughed at her comment Beca was pleased when she actually managed to muster a smile.

" And it was amazing." Chloe added her face flushing at the memories of it. Beca was normally a quiet person but when she got truly angry there was nothing that would stop her. Unfortunately, both of them were the most stubborn people that they knew. So when they fought it could last for hours or even days until one of them would apologize or they would just give up.

" I wanted to tell you." Beca offered helplessly.

" Do you know what you're going to do?" Chloe asked unaffected by the sudden change of subjects.

" I have a few meetings set up, some record companies are interested."

" That's great."

" Yeah, I don't know if I'll sign with any of them but it's nice to know that there are people interested in my music."

" Of course they would be interested, you're brilliant." Beca blushed at the compliment, even if she knew that she was a good musician it didn't make taking compliments any easier.

It took a while but finally the awkwardness faded and they were able to talk, not with the same ease that they had once talked but they managed conversation to flow relatively smoothly. They talked about everything that had happened in each of their lives since they last talked, Chloe told Beca all about work and the friends she had and her family. Beca didn't know at one what point during conversation that she felt Chloe slip her hand into hers, or why she didn't even hesitate in conversation.

There was a dangerous line that they were walking along and both of them knew it but couldn't stop themselves. Not when it was so easy, so easy for it to go back to how it used to be. Chloe knew that it would happen, it was why she had told Beca not to come back to New York when she decided to break things off. They talked through the night, about everything and anything.

" I have to get to the airport." Beca said looking down at her cell phone. " I don't suppose you want to share a cab?"

" Okay."

" So now I get to say goodbye to you." Chloe said standing with Beca outside the doors of the airport. Beca nodded, her hands shoved into her hoodie pockets while she tried not to look at Chloe. " Do amazing things out there Beca. I know you will, but just go be amazing okay?" Chloe said reaching for Beca and pulling the brunette close, Beca stood awkwardly accepting the hug but not returning it mainly because her arms were held at her sides by Chloe's.

" You know the really messed up part about this whole thing?" Beca asked looking up and catching Chloe's gaze.

" I'm afraid to ask."

" Had things worked out differently, you'd probably be welcoming me at the airport instead of sending me off." Chloe felt Beca's words like a twisting dagger through the gut. Her brain was screaming at her to just pull Beca to her and kiss her, then they could get back together and figure things out. Life might make sense again. Chloe didn't know what it was that stopped her. It wasn't fair, how could she tell Beca that she ached for her, that she wanted nothing more than to take back what she had done those months ago. Could they ever really go back from that? Would Beca ever trust her again?

" Goodbye Chloe." Beca said moving away from Chloe shifting her bag on her shoulder.

" Beca wait!" Chloe called. Beca turned slowly, looking more like a child expecting to be scolded or punished. When Chloe hesitated Beca inched towards the older woman, now a comforting smile on her face.

" Goodbye Chloe." Beca repeated, this time when she walked away Chloe didn't say anything and just watched Beca disappear into the sea of people.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – 6 years ago

" _It should come as no surprise to any music lovers out there that music superstar Beca Mitchell who only erupted on the charts in the last year has been nominated for a whapping 4 Grammy's, Breakout artist, Top Single, Album of the Year, there really is no stopping this girl…"_

To anyone who didn't know Beca they would have thought the announcement that she was being nominated for Grammy's didn't affect the brunette. The slight upward turn of her lips while she watched the LA streets speed by on the way to the studio. Thankfully at least one person in the SUV did know her and had explained in advance that she was actually quite happy about the news she was just processing in her own way.

After moving to LA the trio had set up shop in a small apartment, both Jesse and Cynthia Rose enrolling in class while Beca threw herself into music. She booked several reoccurring DJ jobs at clubs all over LA slowly moving inward to the heart of the cities night life. She held off on signing any contracts for a while, each one having something she didn't like about it. Beca was a music purist and she wanted to keep complete control over the music she wanted to make. She didn't want some producer to come in and tell her what her music was supposed to sound like.

Naturally, most record companies thought she was insane. So Beca had to make herself marketable before they would sign her, show them that people wanted her music without having them mess with it. Beca knew what people wanted to listen to; she always managed to be just slightly ahead of the musical curve. She played things that weren't too far out of the listener's comfort zones while not being the same sounds that people had been hearing for the last year on every radio station.

Beca finally found a company that was willing to take a chance on her and when she signed the contract it was with complete creative control over her music. That was the day that both Jesse and Cynthia Rose decided to take a sabbatical from school. It was with no shortage of pride that Beca's first album went multi-platinum within weeks and she became an overnight superstar.

" Have you heard from her at all?" Jesse asked in a quiet voice, though the other people in the car weren't paying attention. The other members of their entourage was Lucy, Beca's publicist and person assistant which Beca still didn't understand why she needed. But since Lucy was a genuinely cool person who wasn't trying to exploit Beca for her money Beca didn't mind having her around. And Theo, he'd been hired as Beca's body guard after Beca got roughed up at one her gigs when some of the fans got out of hand.

" Nope. I don't really know if I should expect to. I mean…we've sent a few texts here and there but…" Beca let her sentence trail off she didn't really want to finish it. The idea that Chloe had moved on seemed rational and healthy even but it still was painful and Beca didn't want to think about it.

" You'll hear from her. The announcement probably just hasn't been made over there."

" And why would she be paying attention? We're not together anymore." Beca said hearing a poorly hidden chortle coming from Lucy who was scrolling through emails on her phone. Lucy had only heard about Chloe and had never met the woman but she knew a great many details about the relationship that was only ever hinted about. Jesse had filled her in completely with every detail of what had happened. Beca had been pissed when she found out.

" Trust me Beca, she's Chloe. Even if she wasn't paying attention for you, which I highly doubt. She'll be watching because she's a musical person and she'll want to know." This time it was Cynthia Rose who chimed in from the front seat. Cynthia Rose had taken over as Beca's creative partner and also her sanity. As much as she loved Jesse, aside from Chloe no one had been able to get Beca back in the music mindset except Cynthia Rose.

" So I should call her and say what? Oh just thought I should let you know even though you dumped me that I'm going to the Grammy's?" Beca's sarcasm was practically tangible in the SUV.

" Or you know something a little more friendly like…'Hey Chloe I'm going to the Grammy's want to be my date?'" Cynthia Rose had been a stanch believer that Beca and Chloe could work out whatever it was that was going on with them. If they would just pull their heads out of their asses they would be able to see that they were meant to be together.

" I'm not going to ask her to be my date."

" Then who are you taking? Everyone wants to know." Lucy asked looking up from her phone.

" I'll probably go stag. I mean, it's not like I'm seeing anyone."

" Which we seriously need to change. I mean you're like the most wanted person in LA right now and you don't even go out to clubs." Jesse insisted.

" If I'm not spinning there isn't anything that I want to do in a club." Beca shrugged. She did actually hate that she was making a great number of these people's jobs difficult by refusing to play by the simple rules that dictated life in LA. If you were rich and famous there were things that you were supposed to do, and if you didn't that either made you a social pariah or the most interesting person in LA. Unfortunately for Beca it had made her the latter.

" You should try and make an effort. I mean, it's actually a lot of fun." Jesse insisted.

" There is the announcement party. All the nominees are expected to be there. Hate to say it Beca but on this one you need to go." If any of them heard Beca groan none of them said anything.

Across the country Jesse and Cynthia Rose had been right, Chloe was very well aware of Beca's success. Even if it wasn't that she had been watching desperately trying to see if Beca had gotten nominated but after the announcement she had be deal with the plethora of phone calls she received afterward. It was amazing the people who called her after years of not talking only to ask her about Beca.

Chloe really couldn't complain about the way her life was turning out, she was successful at her job, had just receiving a promotion. She had a successful social life, at least what was considered successful for a young woman of her birth and of her career field. She went out for cocktails with co-workers and Aubrey. But she wasn't happy, not truly. At best she could say that she was content with the way that her life was going.

Like right now she was supposed to be having a good time with the group of people that both she and Aubrey had accumulated as their base friendship group. They weren't the Bella's but they were still fun to be around. But what she was doing was looking down at her phone to her contacts list Beca's name was highlighted and her phone was asking her if she wanted to call or text her. She had been debating it all day since she had heard about the nomination.

Excusing herself from her friends Chloe walked towards entrance of the bar while her phone started ringing. Several rings went by and Chloe was beginning to convince that Beca wasn't going to answer when the other line picked up.

" Hello?" Chloe could hear the hesitation in Beca's tone, but she would be lying if she didn't find that hearing the brunette's voice filled her entire being with a bubbly happiness she hadn't felt in a while. " Chloe?" Beca asked after a few seconds of silence.

" Hi." Of all the lame things that she could say she couldn't believe that was the best that she could come up with. She blamed it on the fact that there was just so much she wanted to say to Beca.

" How are you? Are you okay?" Beca asked concerned. They hadn't talked in a very long time but already Beca could tell that something was off with Chloe.

" I had a million things I wanted to say to you, but now that I'm talking to you I don't even know where to start." Chloe said leaning heavily against the brick wall of the building. She heard the soft sounds of what sounded like rustling, Beca was leaving a room. Already she was feeling guilty that she called Beca but now it appeared that Beca was in the middle of something.

" Well, you should start with what the most important one is." Beca said finally and her voice was much clearer. She'd just been at home with Jesse and Cynthia Rose, but she didn't want Chloe to accidentally hear the cat calls and the other sounds that Jesse was not above making.

" I miss you." Chloe blurted out. She hadn't meant to say that, in her head she had wanted to say something like 'congratulations on the nominations' or something like that. Not to say something as stupidly honest as what she said. But once it was out she couldn't take it back.

" Chloe…" Beca started, she closed her eyes in an attempt to fight the massive amount of feelings that were currently flooding back to the forefront of her mind after being shoved out over the past year.

" I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that." Chloe apologized quickly. But she wouldn't apologize for the sentiment she couldn't do that.

" I don't know what you want me to say to that. It's been a year."

" I know, I don't expect you to feel the same I just…"

" Of course I do Chloe. I miss you like crazy." There was a heavy pause after that as both of them tried to figure out how this conversation had gotten so messed up before it had even really begun.

" I'm sorry, I just called to say congratulations on your nominations. I'm so happy for you, and proud." Chloe said in a rush trying to salvage the conversation.

" Thanks. It's still a lot to take in. It doesn't really feel real yet."

" Well you deserve it. The album is amazing, kinda reminds me of the mixes you used to make me."

" What are we doing Chloe? I mean, are we going to talk once a year? Can we be friends like you said we would be?"

" I really want that." Chloe said.

" Cuz that means that you have to actually talk to me more than once a month."

" I think I can manage that." Chloe said the first hint of a genuine Chloe Beale smile tugging at her lips, the kind of smile that would make her eyes sparkle.

" Good, well I have to get back to Jesse and Cynthia Rose. Have a good night Chloe."

" You too Beca."

In many ways Beca knew how dangerous it was to start talking to Chloe again, it was like an alcoholic accepting a job in a liquor store. There was no way that Beca would ever think of Chloe as just a friend. The redhead meant to much to her for that. As much as they wanted to fool themselves into thinking it was possible to remain friends they were just another failed stereotype. The only problem was they were both still too desperately in love to admit that it was unhealthy.

Beca's life was a whirlwind, she didn't spend much time in LA after the announcements of the nominations she had promotions to do which included radio interviews, magazine photo shoots, anything and everything the record label thought might help with getting her more exposure. Truthfully, one of the only things that kept Beca sane was sneaking off with Jesse and Cynthia Rose for some Taco Bell, and talking to Chloe. They had taken to talking every day either via text or actual phone conversations. When they did catch each other on the phone they talked for hours. Even when Chloe knew she should be asleep because she had an early meeting in the morning she couldn't bring herself to hang up on Beca.

Neither of them were oblivious to their obvious feelings for each other, even Beca who was easily the most emotionally stunted of the two. But she could tell, especially when Chloe actually began saying goodbye with 'I love you Becs'. Really that's when Beca should have put an end to it. It was only torture really. The taunting of holding something she wanted so badly in front of her just beyond her reach.

" Why aren't you guys together?" Lucy asked while Beca was sitting in the makeup chair before her photo shoot for Rolling Stone magazine. Beca had just gotten off the phone with Chloe and Lucy had been curious why Beca looked so conflicted afterwards. When Beca had explained why Lucy had been naturally curious.

" Because we live on opposite coasts and the distance destroyed us last time." Beca replied watching her reflection in the mirror. She had always like the subtle make up look, sure she liked heavy eye liner but she definitely didn't like layers upon layers of makeup caked on her face making her forget what color her skin actually was. But this make up person actually seemed to have talent at it and Beca could recognize herself still.

" But you love her."

" Sorry to disappoint but apparently love doesn't always conquer all." Beca replied with a shrug.

" That's stupid. If you love each other you should be together. Surely you could ask her to move here. If she loves you then she will."

" Seriously? You have an idealistic view on love. She has her whole life there, friends, family, and her job. If I asked her to move here she would just end up hating me for it later. Sure we'd be together, but what would she do here? Be my groupie?"

" Then go there. You can make your music there. All you really need is your lap top right?" Lucy asked remembering how Beca's manager had told her about how Beca got started. Sure it was easier now for artists to make their own music using their lap tops but Beca seemed to have a heightened talent for it. She could make music sound just as good coming from her lap top as it would from a studio.

" I'm going to take that as a compliment even if I'm not sure that it was one." Beca said standing up and stretching her tired limbs. She'd been sitting in the makeup chair for an hour and she was beginning to feel restless. She wished that she'd brought Jesse or Cynthia Rose alone to maybe make the situation a little more bearable.

" Are you going to invite her out for the Grammy's? You still have a plus one that you haven't given me an answer for yet." Lucy asked. She liked Beca, she really did. She'd had at least a decade experience in the business and worked with a lot of up and coming stars but by far Beca was her favorite. It was rare to find a celebrity who didn't really want the fame that came along with what they did. Beca made music because she couldn't imagine life without it. She didn't do it for the fame and the money that it would bring her. She didn't spend her time pretending like she didn't want the attention her fame brought her while secretly reveling in it.

" I thought about it. Would that be weird?"

" She loves music right? You'd be giving her a once in a lifetime experience. She's got a friend in New York right? That you went to school with? Ask her along too if you want. Get her over here, spend some face time with her that isn't Skype and see if the torch you still have burning for her gets a little hotter when she's actually here." The logic of what Lucy was saying was sound, Beca had thought about inviting Chloe. Chloe was the logical choice for a date. But then she always hesitated on the subject, 'a date'. They weren't a couple anymore and if they showed up at the Grammy's together then the entire world was going to think they were a couple. She didn't want to do that to Chloe.

" Maybe. Why don't you just put me down for going stag. And what's this deal about this interview I have to do after this torture?" Beca asked changing the subject back to work figuring it was a safer subject.

" Beca, you got the cover, _the Cover_ of Rolling Stones Magazine. Of course they are going to want an interview."

Beca hated doing interviews, the questions were always way to intimate and pried into information that Beca really didn't want people to know. She hadn't gotten any better opening up to people and she was infuriatingly good at answering questions as vaguely as possible. Since she had nearly sky rocketed to the top of the charts and was on the radar of pretty much everyone, it was a big adjustment dealing with people wanting to get into her business.

" Shit. Did you tell them my rules?" Beca asked hearing the photographer asking for her.

" They know." Lucy replied with a roll of her eyes.

" Excellent. Well let's get this over with."

" It's a photo shoot Beca not torture." Lucy replied.

" Same difference."

After hours, and Beca wasn't even exaggerating about how long it truly took to get what the photographer called the perfect picture Beca as exhausted. She was tired, hungry, and most dangerously of all she was in a crappy mood. The ingredients to the perfect storm, really Beca kinda felt bad for the poor interviewer that looked eager and slightly nervous to meet with her. It took a while, and Beca was still working on wrapping her mind around people still wanting to meet her.

" Ms. Mitchell, it's a real pleasure." Beca sat down opposite of the interviewer.

" Please call me Beca." Beca replied automatically. Her interviewer was a someone probably Beca's age, maybe a little bit older than her. She'd changed out of the outfit that she had been made to wear for the shoot, now she sat in front of the guy in a pair of her old jeans, converse shoes, and a tank top covered by a zip up hoodie that she'd just left hanging open. She probably didn't look at all the celebrity type to him.

" Beca it is then. How was your first high profile photo shoot?" Beca looked down at the tape recorder that was resting on his leg, it was already recording.

" Intense. But I could get used to it." Beca replied flashing him her trademark smile. To the unprepared it looked like a charming, devil-may-care kind of smirk. What it really meant was that he was treading of very thin ice. Lucy had trained Beca very well on how to deal with interviews like this, be charming, be cordial, and they are less likely to pester.

" That's good, you're kind of a hot topic right now in the music world. How's that?"

" What's your name?" Beca asked curiously, these interviewers pretty much all blurred together but for the most part Beca at least wanted to know what to call them.

" Oh uh, Brian. C-call me Brian."

" To answer your question, I don't think that it has really sunk in yet. It's still kind of a lot to adjust to. Going from no one knowing or caring who I was to people wanting to know my every move, it's a little bit overwhelming." Beca offered shifting in her chair, she couldn't look away from the tape recorder it was like an elephant sitting right in between them.

" Yeah this business can be kind of relentless when it comes to finding out everything we can about the musicians we like. Fame is a double edge sword." Beca hated that cliché and it took every ounce of her willpower not to roll her eyes.

" That's what they say."

" Alright well, I hope you'll forgive me for being cliché but I just have to tell you that I'm a huge fan. Your music is…inspiring. How do you come up with your material?" Brian asked fidgeting with his hands.

" I wish there was a secret but music is like…oxygen to me. It flows through my mind all the time. There isn't a formula, sometimes it takes refining but most of the time it's just raw and that's what people relate to." Beca explained. Brian nodded like people do when she says that but they don't understand. Few people Beca knew understood what she meant. To them it sounded like she was saying that she heard voices or something like that.

" Do you sit at your computer, have any sort of routine?"

" Not really. My lap top is always with me, I always have my headphones with me in case I'm somewhere where I can't listen through the speakers."

" You're nineteen, and you're nominated for four Grammy's. How does that feel? I mean that's got to be a bit crazy to wrap your mind around."

" It is crazy. But it's awesome, people like my music."

" I'd say they love it. Multi-platinum on your debut album I think most artists would kill for success like that."

" Dude, don't jinx me." Beca said in a stage whisper.

" Sorry, sorry. Alright, I know you are a secretive person. You have managed to keep everyone in the dark about pretty much every detail of your life. I'm hoping that you'll indulge me here. Maybe give me some of those details." Lucy told Beca that this was probably going to happen. That she was going to have to give a little bit.

" I don't like to give up all of my secrets, I like my privacy."

" Such an enigma. How about I make you a deal, I'll ask you five questions."

" Are they multiple choice?" Beca asked cracking a smile. It was nice that he was willing to work with her. Most people when they were actually able to corner her and ask her questions fired them at her like bullets from a machine gun.

" That's up to you."

" Alright, fire away."

" Are you dating anyone right now? Casually seeing anyone?" Beca had to know that question but at the same time Beca couldn't quite keep her heart from starting to race. Her mind went to Chloe and she wanted to say yes. And the reminder that she couldn't because she and Chloe weren't together.

" No, I'm very much single." Beca replied after some hesitation. And unfortunately Brian noticed.

" You hesitated a little bit."

" We all have the one that got away. You have three more questions." Beca reminded playfully.

" You never go out to clubs, you are barely are seen by anyone. What do you do to entertain yourself?"

" Music. I'm pretty much a loner I like to spend my time experimenting with new sounds, new mixes, different things I can do to improve the sound of my work. I know it sounds lame but it's true."

" It's kind of easy to be a workaholic when your work is your passion huh?"

" Definitely."

" Are you planning on touring at all? With an album as successful as your I can only imagine that your shows would sell out."

" There has been some talk about it. I know that eventually they want me to tour so I guess after the Grammy's we'll see huh?" Beca knew that she wasn't being very forthcoming to Brian but he was handling it pretty well, he even seemed to like the dialogue they were having. It didn't feel like an interview, it felt like a conversation.

" Tell me more about the one that got away."

" I think that your five questions are up Brian." Beca said and she heard Brian groan.

" Well a deal is a deal isn't it?"

Beca tried not to run out of the building to the car that was waiting for her but only just, she practically speed walked away. Pulling her hood over her head just before the door opened just in case there were photographers or damned paparazzi were there. The SUV started driving without Beca giving them any instruction, Lucy sat in the passenger seat reading her emails and Beca was sure that if there was some engagement she had to do Lucy would tell her, until then she would just hope that the car was taking her home.

 _You busy? –_ Beca texted to Chloe, hitting send Beca kept the phone clutched in her hand in hopes of getting a swift text from the red head.

 _I'm up for some distraction. Call or text? –_ Chloe knew when she got texts like that from Beca that the brunette was stressed and needed to talk. An assumption that was only confirmed when her phone started ringing.

" Hey." Chloe said with her usual perky nature. It being a Saturday she hadn't been at work and was having a lazy day around the apartment with Aubrey who was busy studying.

" Interviews suck." Beca groaned leaning back against the seat and closing her eyes.

" That's right you had Rolling Stone today." Beca wanted to be angry with Chloe for the wonderment she heard in Chloe's tone but she couldn't.

" Yeah. I don't understand why everyone is so goddamn interested in my personal life. I mean I put out music that they like. Isn't that enough?" Beca ranted, sighing when she heard Chloe's laugh through the phone.

" No. You're a celebrity now. Don't you realize that means you belong to the masses. They now get to have an opinion on what you wear, who you date, and who they think you should be." Chloe said sarcastically.

" Hey, I'm supposed to be the sarcastic one." Beca grumbled the street speed past them as they drove.

" Thought I'd switch things up a bit."

" What are you doing right now?" Beca asked wanting to talk about anything but how her day had put her in a prickly mood. She didn't want to subject Chloe to that, even if the redhead was particularly adept at dealing with Beca when she was in her 'hate the world' moods.

" I was cleaning, Aubrey's studying and not much fun right now."

" Can I ask you a crazy question?" Beca asked cautiously looking up at Lucy who's ears had perked when she asked the question. Beca couldn't really blame her PR person, in order to do her job successfully she needed to know what was going on in Beca's ears.

" You can always ask."

" What do you think about coming out to LA for a few days? Maybe a week. I know I have Jesse and Cynthia Rose but I could use another friendly face." Beca tried her best to make the question seem as unimposing as possible, leaving all preconceived assumptions as to what the visit could potentially mean out for the time being.

" Are you sure you want that? I mean it's going to be a crazy time for you with everything that you've got going on." Chloe said surprised at the invitation. Aubrey had been telling her for weeks that she should just go to LA and spend a few days with Beca. Even her father had suggested that she use some of the vacation time she never used to go.

" I'm sure. Believe me Chloe seeing you would be like…a Godsend right now." Chloe's eyes shut tightly at Beca's words. Tears involuntarily forming behind her eyes and making them sting. When Beca heard a muffled sniffle she got concerned. " Chloe? Are you okay?"

" Yeah I'm fine." Though her voice was full of restrained tears. Beca knew that sound, it was a terrible sound.

" What is it? I swear I didn't mean to make you upset."

" You didn't. It's just…" Chloe forced herself to stop.

" Just what?"

" I really like that idea." Chloe found herself saying even if that wasn't what her brain really wanted to say. Her brain was screaming at her that if she went to LA and saw Beca even for a minute it wouldn't matter how much time had passed or how long it had taken her to fool herself into thinking she'd gotten over Beca.

" So you'll come?"

" Yeah. We can arrange to dates when I look at my schedule?"

" Perfect."

" Try and relax a little bit eh Rock star?" Chloe suggested.

" No promises."

* * *

 

" How could I have been so stupid!?" Beca demanded pacing back and forth in her living room not even bothering to look at the two people who were sitting on the couch casting nervous looks at her and then at each other. After she'd gotten off the phone with Chloe she had called both Jesse and Cynthia Rose telling them that she needed to see them as quickly as possible. When they had arrived she told them the whole story of her conversation with Chloe and since then neither of them had said a word.

" I dunno B. I mean what were you expecting when you called her?" Cynthia Rose asked curiously.

" I just wanted to hear her voice. It had been a crazy morning and she has a way of calming me now. Making sure I don't punch anyone." Beca offered falling heavily back into the vacant chair in her living room. Jesse had remained eerily quiet and Beca was beginning to fear that she might have broken him. If he didn't speak soon she was going to have to start worrying.

" Maybe it's good she's coming. It'll give you a chance to get some closure, figure out what the Hell is going on between you two." Jesse offered finally.

" That's not why I asked her to come out here Jesse."

" But that's why she should come out here. Come on Chloe's still got you wrapped around her finger. When she comes back and bats her pretty blue eyes at you you're going to be putty in her hand and you know it." Jesse hadn't softened on his stance of Chloe even as time passed. He was probably the only person on the planet able to hold a grudge against Chloe. But Chloe hurt his best friend, so in some ways Beca was flattered that he was still protective of her.

With all the details ironed out for Chloe's visit to LA Beca was amazed how quickly it went from counting down the dates to counting down the hours until she had to leave for the airport. It was still pre-Grammy time, by a month so the record company was giving her some down time. If anything the pressure to start touring would come after the Grammy's. So Beca had Lucy clear her schedule so she could devout as much time to showing Chloe around as possible. Cynthia Rose was pretty excited to see the former Bella captain and Jesse promised he'd be civil.

LAX was a mad house as it always was, but luckily for Beca that meant not getting recognized by hurried travelers. Chloe's flight had just arrived and Beca was waiting at the arrivals escalator waiting for the familiar flash of red. Her stomach was doing somersaults, and her heart racing fast enough that most cardiologists would be concerned.

And then in one flicker of her gaze up from her cell phone screen Beca saw her. At first it was just the glimpse of red that caught her attention in the sea of people. And then the closer Chloe came the more of her face was revealed to Beca. Time ceased to matter, the noises and chaos LAX was known for was all stolen away. Hell, Beca forgot how to breathe at the sight of the perfect creature walking towards her. Chloe wore a pair of old jeans that were no doubt made for comfort for the long flight but still framed her body perfectly. And wore a light grey t-shirt with her Barden University hoodie hanging from her arms. Beca's mouth went dry, her hands started sweating, and words escaped her.

Chloe saw Beca waiting for her and she barely contained the joy that bubbled out of her. Restraint had never been one of her strong suits and when she got the impulse to do something she generally did it. So when she got her first glimpse of Beca watching her, almost frozen in place, phone still clutched in her hand like she was mid-text message and their eyes met. All bets were off and Chloe took off running.

When their bodies collided it should have hurt, it should have been awkward and as it took Beca several moments to ensure that they weren't going to fall onto the tile floor, it wasn't. It was perfection, there was no other word for it. Chloe's arms wrapped around Beca's smaller frame so tightly that had Beca been breathing before, she would have found it difficult.

" I'm so glad that I'm here." Chloe whispered against Beca's ear. Beca nodded still not being able to find her voice Chloe's scent was intoxicating.

" Me too." Beca whispered. After several long moments the two reluctantly parted and moved away from each other to a more respectable distance. Beca looked down at her feet, scuffing her converse on the floor.

" Look at you Rock Star." Chloe had taken to calling Beca that despite Beca's hatred for nicknames. Usually 'Becs' was all she could tolerate, she didn't understand why she needed a nickname of a nickname but Beca was never great at reading people.

" And you, you look great." Beca offered taking in Chloe's appearance now close up and sparing no detail.

" I must look like a mess, it was a long flight."

" But it was an okay flight? Did you want to head back to my place and take a nap or did you want to grab some lunch?"

" I slept on the flight and lunch sounds amazing." Beca rolled her eyes, Chloe always could sleep on planes, buses, cars, anything really. Beca couldn't something about sleeping while moving.

" I know just the place."

Following Beca out of the airport to the parking lot Chloe took in the younger girl, physically Beca looked the same as she had the last time that Chloe had seen her. But there was definitely something different about her, an air of confidence that she had that was new. Beca had never lacked confidence before but she didn't like to be noticed. Now she just seemed to come into her own.

" You're staring." Beca commented when they approached her car. She at first had been reluctant to buy any sort of glamorous car, she was perfectly fine with a car that runs. But when her signing bonus came Jesse convinced her she needed a car that was worthy of LA streets. So they went car shopping and she bought herself a Tesla Model S.

" I like your car." Chloe said with an approving nod.

" Thanks. Get in I'll take you for a spin."

It had taken her a few months to learn how to navigate LA traffic, it was different and terrifying on a whole level that nowhere else in the world could understand. But now she understood the in's and outs of it and handled it like a pro. Occasionally Beca would send glances Chloe's way and watch the wonder cross over the redheads face, like Chloe wanted to see everything all in one glance.

They ended up at a small bistro sitting on the patio so that Chloe could take in the busy streets. Talking casually about Chloe's flight and her different things that were small talk like, it was casual and comfortable.

" Can I see your recording studio?" Chloe asked, sure she wanted to see the sights; she'd never been to LA before. But she wanted to see Beca's life.

" If you want. It hasn't changed much since Barden. I mean I do the majority of my mixing on my computer but when it's time to actually lay the track that's when I go to the studio."

" Well seems to be working for you pretty well. I still can't wrap my head around it. I'm so proud of you Beca." Chloe said with a proud smile.

" Thanks. You helped a lot too." Beca said modestly.

" I just told you the truth. You're a musical genius and now the whole world knows it."

Beca had moved from her first apartment that she shared with Cynthia Rose and Jesse into the heart of the city into a condo that her agent and her record company thought was more suited to her new status. It was still way too much for Beca, she was still the same girl that was from Portland, she had more money than she had ever had before and more coming in every day. She could afford to have awesome things that she could only dream about. But frugal habits were hard to break.

But now that Chloe was there she was glad that she found a spacious apartment with a guest room that she could show Chloe.

" Welcome to my recording studio." Beca said showing Chloe into the apartment. In truth the place looked barely lived in, she didn't spend a whole lot of time in any other room other than her bedroom or the kitchen.

" I like it." Chloe said following Beca to the master bedroom which is where Beca insisted Chloe stay for the duration of the week. " Are you sure that I can't convince you to let me stay in the guest room?" Chloe asked thinking that Beca giving up her bedroom was both ridiculous but also adorable.

" Yep." Beca replied setting Chloe's suitcase down on the bed and looked back at Chloe not expecting Chloe to be standing so close to her.

" I don't feel right stealing your bed Beca."

" You aren't stealing it, I'm insisting that you take the more comfortable bed while you are here as my guest." Beca explained pushing down on the mattress for emphasis. Really she was just trying to distract herself from the fact that Chloe was standing so close to her that she could feel the heat radiating off of Chloe's body.

" If you're sure." Chloe said finally breaking the heavy silence and Beca almost wished that she hadn't, the low and raspy voice Chloe had made it that much harder for Beca to remind herself to move away.

" Positive."

Thanking her lucky stars that Chloe moved away Beca was able to shake her head free of the cobwebs being so close to Chloe always seemed to cause.

" What are we doing today?" Chloe asked casually as if they hadn't just had this incredibly tension filled moment. But really Beca shouldn't be surprised that Chloe was able to push past things like that, awkwardness never seemed to really bother Chloe and she moved on quickly deciding instead not to dwell on it.

" Well I know that Cynthia Rose wants to see you. She's been talking non-stop about it since she found out that you were coming into town. We could keep it simple or if you wanted to go crazy there are a lot of night clubs I could see you liking." Beca offered, she'd known that Chloe would want to go out clubbing which didn't pose too big of a problem since she knew that she would be able to get them in. But that meant allowing herself to be fodder for the paparazzi.

" You hate clubs." Chloe reminded gently. If Beca wasn't performing she found the whole clubbing atmosphere completely extraneous.

" But you don't."

" Why don't we just stick to dinner tonight with Cynthia Rose, maybe Jesse? Does he still hate me?"

" He's gotten over the voodoo doll making and the curses for now. But I don't think that you're his favorite person right now. I'm going to apologize in advance for him. He promised he'd be nice but…well his idea of nice and most peoples can be a little skewed." Beca said knowing that Jesse would claim he was trying to be nice but snide comments would be slipped into conversation.

" You don't need to apologize, he's protective of you." Chloe offered with an understanding shrug.

" Does that mean I need to worry about Aubrey making voodoo dolls and cursing me? Because I'm pretty sure that I don't stand a chance." Beca said mostly joking but also truly fearful that Aubrey might hate her.

" She doesn't hate you. Actually the opposite. I broke up with you Beca, it would be stupid of her to be angry with you for something that I did."

" But still, obviously I did something that made you want to break up with me. And believe it or not your best friend still terrifies me." Beca said wondering when they had gotten to the point in their post romantic relationship when they could joke about their break up.

" I believe it. But she doesn't hate you."

" Good. Jesse doesn't hate you either. I think it bothers him more because he likes you." Beca offered.

" On a completely unrelated note, do I get to meet Lucy?" Beca had mentioned her assistant in passing a few times. Chloe had been interested in meeting the woman who could somehow wrangle Beca into doing whatever she needed to do, and not necessarily what she wanted to do.

" I think that can be arranged."

They met up with Cynthia Rose later that night at one of the favorites of the group. As Beca had explained Cynthia Rose had been happy to see Chloe, something about the memories of the Bella's. They caught up on all the things that were going on in each of their lives, mostly Chloe and Cynthia Rose because Beca didn't want to talk about her life. Cynthia Rose explained that while she had tried dating she hadn't found the girl for her, even though she wasn't giving up hope. Both Chloe and Beca assumed that it was because she was still holding a torch for Stacie.

" How do you like LA so far?" Beca asked when they returned from dinner, setting her bag down by the door Beca watched Chloe walk silently to the floor to ceiling windows of her apartment that had a view of city. Chloe had been silent for a lot of their drive back from the restaurant and Beca was beginning to worry.

" It's beautiful." Chloe answered while sounding dreamy like she wasn't really paying attention.

" What's the matter? You've been distracted all day."

" It's nothing I've just been thinking." Chloe said without really looking at Beca.

" About?"

" Us."

" What about us?" Beca asked hesitantly.

" Whatever crazy, complicated mess we have going on right now. We both know it's not healthy, for either of us." Chloe hadn't planned on bringing any of this up so early in her trip. She wanted to have a good time not spend all of it dealing with all the shit that she had been thinking about for the past few weeks.

" What are you saying Chloe?"

" Tell me I'm not the only one that has been blurring lines lately, because it feels like we're together. We talk about things like we're a couple, we talk to each other like we're a couple. I can't…its confusing Beca."

" I'm not the one who didn't want to be together anymore Chloe. You broke up with me." Beca said defensively.

" I know!" Chloe cried frustrated, running her hand through her hair and looking back at the skyline of the city.

" So you tell me what you want. I can't guess what's going on in your head." Beca said leaning against the wall and looking at Chloe expectantly.

" It feels good when I think about us as if we're still together. I like it when I tell people that I'm going to have a phone date with you later. But that doesn't change the fact that at the end of the day you and I live at opposite ends of the country and we still have the same problem that we had before. That hasn't gone away." Chloe explained.

" Yeah apparently we were doing so terribly before." Beca offered bitterly.

" We were fighting so much that it was impossible to think that we were still happy."

" I was never unhappy Chloe."

" Neither was I."

" So you broke up with me because you thought I was unhappy and you didn't even talk to me. You just…made the decision for me. God I want to be so pissed at you right now." Beca said walking to the kitchen and opening her pantry where there was a half full bottle of some sort of amber liquor. Chloe decided she would wait until later to ask how someone who was only 19 got her hands on booze. Watching as Beca poured two glasses and handed one to Chloe the two stood in frustrated silence for several long minutes while they nursed their drinks.

" So what are we talking about here? I mean…not that I want to get my hopes up or anything but it sounds like we're somewhere on the road to working things out and getting back together?" Beca asked trying not to appear too hopeful but it was hopeless. She was hopeful.

" Is it really that simple? Can it really be that simple?"

" It's only as hard as we make it. I'm not going to convince you to be with me, you should be with me because you want to be with me. But if it took flying out to see you every weekend I would do it. I want you in my life Chloe, I want you to be my girlfriend not just my friend. Obviously we can't just be friends. Just think about it, and I'll see you in the morning." Beca said draining the rest of her drink and leaving Chloe in the living room.

**Present Day**

" She's…out of surgery. Chloe lost a lot of blood but the doctors were able to repair it. She's in recovery right now but you should be able to see her in a bit." Beca felt like for the first time in hours she was able to breathe again. Chloe was okay, Chloe was going to be okay. She was ecstatic and at the same time she still felt the culmination of all of the things she'd had to deal with in the last day all catch up to her.

" Can you um…take him please?" Beca asked handing the infant to Barbara.

" Are you okay Beca?" Barbara saw how ghostly white Beca was and worried that the brunette might pass out. Beca was almost out the door when her promise to not leave their son's side echoed in Beca's head. She just wanted to go for a walk, she just wanted to go find a quiet spot where she could be alone and completely break down. That was all she could think about but she couldn't leave him.

" I'm fine. I just needed a minute. But Chloe…she's going to be okay?"

" As far as the doctors can tell she's going to be fine. They want to watch her for the next couple hours and she'll probably have to stay in the hospital for a few days."

" Will you let me know when she's awake and I can take this little guy to see her?"

" Of course."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven – Present Day**

Chloe woke slowly, the pain medication that was being pumped through her system made her head groggy as well as making the majority of her body numb. It took a few minutes just to get her eyes open, another few to get her arm to move to rub away the blurriness in her eyes. Finally, after what seemed like a small eternity had passed Chloe's vision cleared to see that Aubrey was sitting by the window looking out into what promised to be a captivating scene of the hospital parking lot. As pleased as Chloe was to see her best friend Chloe had hoped that the first sight she would see would be Beca or maybe her son.

" Aubrey?" Chloe asked, though it sounded more like a hoarse rasping instead of her usually lyrical voice. Aubrey jumped, clearly not expecting Chloe to wake up so soon. She was at her best friend's bedside in two strides.

" Hey, how are you feeling?" One hand went to Chloe's, giving it a reassuring squeeze and the other went to Chloe's hair smoothing it out.

" Been better, what happened?" Chloe asked looking down at her body and seeing that her belly had gone down to a little larger than its normal size.

" You started bleeding and they had to take you into surgery." Aubrey explained.

" And the baby? Is he…?" Panic started to overtake Chloe and she could hear the beeping on the monitor begin to rise from its rhythmic beat to a more frantic pace.

" He's okay. They took him to the NICU to be monitored. Beca went with him. She said that she promised you that she would stay with him but she wanted to be here when you woke up." Aubrey explained remembering seeing how torn up Beca was when she relayed this information to the blonde. Aubrey had never seen Beca in such a state, and hoped she never would again.

" When can I see him?"

" Let me go get the doctor. I'll be right back."

**6 years ago**

Beca had given up hope on being able to fall asleep. She just couldn't, not with how she left things with Chloe. It didn't seem right that she put all the responsibility onto Chloe for deciding their relationship. But Beca didn't know what to do anymore, clearly things between them had gotten so beyond fucked up that they were now in the weird grey area between friends and lovers. Beca knew which one she would chose and she would make that call in a heartbeat. But Chloe wanted Beca to come to New York. The words may never have crossed Chloe's lips but Beca knew Chloe well enough to know that it was on her mind. And the most frustrating part was that Chloe wouldn't ever ask. It wasn't in her nature.

Beca jumped when she heard the door open to the guest room, since she had insisted that Chloe take her bed she crashed out in the other room. The only reason it was furnished at all was because on occasion Jesse or Cynthia Rose would need to crash out at her condo. And after lying on the bed for a few hours Beca knew she needed to buy a better mattress. But even in the dim light of the bedroom Beca recognized Chloe's form and the brief glimpse of red she saw when Chloe walked by the window and her hair caught in the street lights outside.

Sitting up Beca waited, wondering if Chloe was going to say something or what might happen. But Chloe lingered by the window for several long moments just looking at Beca like she was contemplating something and she wasn't going to move until she decided. It didn't take a rocket scientist to guess what it was she was debating. After what had to have been a small eternity of silence Beca decided she needed to break the suffocating silence.

" I don't know if I'll ever want to get married. I can't promise you that I'll want to have kids but someday I might change my mind. I'm stubborn, I use sarcasm as a way of coping with situations that I feel uncomfortable in. I can go days without speaking to people when I'm mixing and I'll probably have to end up going on tours to promote albums. I'm a grade A pain in the ass most of the time and I don't deserve you. I know that, and you know that because Chloe _you_ get me. You understand everything about me and you're okay with it when most people would have given up on me.

" You told me when we first got together that I didn't need to have faith in people. I just needed to have faith in you. I have faith in you, and I know that we can work. How can I make you believe that to?" Beca ached with the urge to go to Chloe but she forced herself to stay seated on the edge of the bed. She waited anxiously while Chloe processed her words wishing that she could see Chloe's face instead of the shadows.

Chloe didn't know if she could move, she'd listened to what Beca had said and her heart filled with more love for the brunette than she thought was possible. All the times that she had wished that Beca had opened up to her just a tiny bit when they were together was now dwarfed by the actuality of Beca confessing her feelings. Chloe wanted to tell Beca that her mind was made up to give them another shot even before Beca had asked her in the living room hours before. Somehow they would find a way to make it work.

Finally Chloe moved away from the window, crossing the small guest room in a few strides she paused for just a moment in front of Beca before bringing their lips together in a crushing kiss. Beca reacted instinctively, her hands going to Chloe's sides bringing the red head down onto her lap while Chloe busied her hands in Beca's hair. Straddling the brunette Chloe moved her lips hungrily over Beca's, all the passion, the longing, the repressed desire she'd been forcing out of her mind for a year released into one mind blowing kiss.

Gasping against Chloe's lips when she redhead pulled roughly at her hair Beca felt Chloe's tongue move over hers possessively, dominating their kiss. A short time later they fell backward onto the bed Chloe landing on top of Beca and taking the opportunity to move her kisses down along Beca's neck biting at the skin she found there and marking it. There was no doubt that in the morning Beca's neck would be riddled with bruises but that was the furthest thing from Beca's mind; she didn't care what would happen in the morning just so long as Chloe didn't stop.

Groaning appreciatively when Beca's hands gripped her butt and pulled Chloe closer. Her body was reacting to Beca's touches so acutely it was like there had never been a time when she was without it. Desire flooded every inch of her body mixed with the pleasure brought by Beca's touch; it was a potent combination that sent Chloe's head spinning.

Clothes were shed as quickly as possible while minimizing the length of time their lips had to be apart. Once Chloe managed to get Beca's tank top off, not an easy feat given that Beca was beneath her and trying her damnedest to reconnect their lips, Chloe looked down at Beca. The brunette was breathing hard trying to catch her breath from their kisses. Beca was breathtaking, so much more beautiful than she gave herself credit for especially the way her eyes her darkened with desire and her lips were slightly bruised from the fervor of their kisses. How Chloe had survived a whole year without the woman laying beneath her was a mystery.

Slowly, Beca would claim it was torturously slow, Chloe ran her fingertips from Beca's collar bone down between Beca's perfect breasts. Smiling with no shortage of self-satisfaction when Beca arched into her encouraging her with the sounds she made. Beca had never been particularly vocal in bed, but Chloe had never minded. It only made her feel better when she was able to draw the sweet sounds out of the brunette.

" Feel nice?" Chloe asked placing kisses where her fingers had just been.

" Mhm." Was all Beca could manage, she kept trying to keep her eyes open wanting to watch Chloe and make sure that it wasn't a dream. Feeling Chloe's tongue trail down, ghosting over Beca's belly button Chloe nipped at the skin there knowing it was a particular weakness of Beca's. Moving down Beca's body Chloe kept her teasing short, there would be plenty of time for that later.

Beca clutched desperately at her sheets beneath her hands, Chloe's mouth was now on her inner thigh alternating between placing hot open mouthed kisses to the smooth skin and biting playfully. An unrestrained cry tore itself from Beca when Chloe finally put her mouth of Beca. Chloe's tongued moved relentlessly over the sensitive skin knowing that Beca wouldn't last long with how aroused she was. Moaning appreciatively as Beca's taste coated her tongue.

Chloe used her hands to gently restrain Beca's hips as they had begun rocking against her mouth, desperately seeking release. Feeling it build in the pit of her stomach Beca gasped at air feeling like she might suffocate and pass out at any moment. Her every nerve ending in her body exploding with pleasure, until finally she tumbled over the edge of release and with an unrestrained scream her orgasm washed over her.

When she finally opened her eyes Beca turned and found that Chloe had moved up to lay by her and was watching as Beca regained her composure. Running her fingers along Beca's face lovingly, allowing her fingers to remember Beca's features. It wasn't until Beca had regained her breath that Chloe realized that Beca was trembling.

" Hey, what's wrong?" Chloe asked concerned that something had gone wrong. Maybe she'd hurt Beca somehow, maybe Beca regretted it.

" Nothing." Beca insisted turning to face Chloe seeing the concern painted on the redheads face and she wanted it to go away.

" You're trembling." Chloe commented moving closer to Beca.

" So I am." Beca said. She could feel the quivering of her body. Like her body wasn't sure what to do. It had been a year since she'd been intimate with anyone.

" I like you like this." Chloe offered knowing that Beca wasn't going to tell her what was really going through her head. Beca hadn't gotten any better at revealing her inner thoughts.

" Like what?" Beca asked turning to look at Chloe.

" Unrestrained."

" Wanna see unrestrained?" Beca asked moving towards Chloe and pinning the older woman beneath her.

" You know I hate it when you throw my words back at me." Chloe commented playfully feeling Beca laugh against her side. They lay tangled in sheets and lost in the bliss of the re-establishment of their relationship.

" I can't help it if in that case you were right, and it got me what I wanted." Beca replied with a smile.

" Wanted to get into my pants?"

" Well always. But what I meant was, it brought us together again." Beca offered.

" What can I say. I'm a genius."

**Months later**

Beca woke before her alarm went off, a rarity since she enjoyed her sleep what most people would say too much. But Beca had developed a new appreciation for mornings. Opening her eyes Beca stretched and felt her muscles protest the movement, but even the protest made Beca smile a true and genuinely happy smile that held no shadows of sadness that were always so familiar on her features. Her happiness came from why her muscles were tired, the fact that she had been properly sexed by her gorgeous girlfriend the night before.

It had been a stressful few weeks for Beca with multiple flights back to LA so that she could handle the happenings of the Grammy's that fast approaching. There were interviews and publicity things she had to do at least so Lucy and Jesse insisted. She'd just gotten back to New York the night before and she'd barely made it into Chloe's apartment before she had been jumped by the red head. Beca was still pretty sure that her bra and shirt was somewhere in the hallway.

Looking over at the slumbering redhead next to her Beca saw the way that Chloe had managed to invade her personal space even while sleeping. Cuddling was still something that Beca was working on. It wasn't that she didn't like cuddling with Chloe, in fact there were few things that she didn't like doing so long as Chloe was there. But after a while Beca found cuddling to be a little claustrophobic. So it wasn't uncommon that after they made love and cuddled for what Chloe considered to be an acceptable amount of time Beca would scoot to her own side of the bed and they would sleep. But it was becoming a more regular event that when she woke up Beca would find Chloe curled up to her side with an arm draped over her stomach.

This was probably the first goodnight sleep she'd had in those weeks and Beca wanted it to last as long as possible. But from the way that her phone was flashing at her told her that at least one person was trying to get a hold of her. If she were a betting woman she would put money that it was Lucy or Jesse. Jesse was freaking out about the Grammy's more than Beca was.

" Why are you awake?" Chloe asked her voice thick with sleep as she burrowed further into her pillow and her grip tightened on Beca.

" Because Lucy hates me." Beca replied grabbing her phone from the nightstand and looking at it. It was Lucy reminding her that she was due at the studio some time before noon so that she could finish working on the track that she was going to perform at the Grammy's. Initially she was only going to be there because she was nominated but then one of the performers bailed and they called, Lucy had agreed before even asking Beca. It was an issue that they were still working on moving past. Beca had almost fired her over it she was so angry.

" You just got back." Chloe groaned knowing that she was awake and wouldn't be going back to sleep any time soon.

" I know, and I'm not going anywhere until the actual award ceremony. But Lucy's freaking out because I'm not freaking out and she thinks that I'm not taking this whole thing seriously." Beca said sitting up and reaching for one of the tank tops that was on the floor next to the bed. She didn't really care who it belonged to, she and Chloe traded clothes all the time.

" You're working too hard." Chloe commented pulling Beca back onto the bed and curling up against Beca's side.

" Meh, it'll be over in a week and then we can go back to normal."

" Beca, this is huge. This is a huge deal right now. You should be proud of what you've accomplished just over a year. You are the most in demand music artist right now, by both listeners and other artists." Chloe was constantly doing that, making sure that Beca knew how wonderful she was.

" Thanks babe." Beca offered. " Want me to make coffee or do you want to go out for coffee and breakfast?"

" Mm make me coffee." Chloe said stretching her arms and looking expectantly.

" I am a multi-platinum recording artist with the Grammy's coming up and you are making me get out of my bed and make you coffee?" Beca asked incredulously, laughing when Chloe nods emphatically.

Beca entered the kitchen and found that Aubrey was already awake, and when she looked up from the paper that she was reading with an exaggerated eye roll Beca blushed. Aubrey could convey with a look that she knew exactly what Beca and Chloe had been up to the night before.

" Sorry." Beca offered circling around the kitchen to prepare the coffee she'd brought back from LA.

" She warned me in advance. I bought noise canceling headphones and was blasting acapella all night. The noise really wasn't the factor it was the banging. I mean how did you managed to get the entire bed to bang against the wall like that?" Aubrey asked a mixture of impressed and mortification.

" Okay Jesus I'm sorry."

" Hey, you're making her happy. But seriously, could you guys _try_ and keep it in your bedroom? I picked these up on my way out here." Beca's eyes widened when she found that Aubrey was holding up her bra.

" Oh my god." Beca whispered dropping her head into her hands to hide the blush that was spreading furiously across her face making her cheeks burn.

Saved from further humiliation when her phone rang Beca took the opportunity to escape Aubrey's teasing even if it mean that she would have to listen to Lucy try and pitch something else to her that she didn't want to do.

" Lucy I've been in New York for less than twelve hours. I want to spend time with my girlfriend and regain some of my sanity. Why can't you let me do that?" Beca whined into the phone and heard Lucy laugh through the phone line.

" I'm not here to crash your respite as much as that would bring me joy. Look Beca are you near your lap top?" There was seriousness to Lucy's tone that made the smile drop from Beca's face.

" Uh yeah give me a second." Beca said reaching into her bag that had been resting on the floor next to the kitchen counter and pulled out her lap top. " What am I looking for?"

" Take your pick, ET, E! News, Insider, Hell I think that even MSNBC has it." Lucy said. She had spent the past few hours trying to put out the rumor mill that had started when someone had leaked photos of Beca and Chloe together.

" Has what exactly?" Beca demanded cradling her phone between her shoulder and her ear. Aubrey circled around the counter to see what Beca was looking at her eyes widening. " Fuck."

The photo wasn't anything incriminating really, in fact it was perfectly innocent enough compared to what Beca and Chloe had spent the previous night doing. But still, it was the two of them leaving the airport hand in hand. Chloe was laughing at something that Beca had said, in fact Beca remembered exactly what she'd said that had made Chloe laugh. But that wasn't the point. The headlines alone were enough to fill Beca with blind rage. Being as private a person as she was she tried to keep herself out of the spot light but that didn't mean that people didn't try to pry into her private life. So when she and Chloe were out in public together they always kept their distance, they didn't hold hands, they didn't cuddle or do any sort of PDA so that there was nothing to report on. But the previous night they had just been so happy to see each other they hadn't cared.

_Is DJ Beca Mitchell dating mystery woman?_

_Beca Mitchell arrives late in New York into the arms of mystery woman_

The headlines went on and on and each less original than the one before it. Beca didn't read any of the actual articles because she knew what most of them would say. She'd never made a secret of her sexuality, it was strange for someone usually so private about everything else in her life Beca didn't care if people knew that she liked the ladies. But really, any real journalist wouldn't have a problem figuring out who Chloe was. She was the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the world. But none of them seemed to know who Chloe was, and Beca thanked her stars for small miracles.

" I've been fielding calls all morning." Lucy offered knowing that Beca would probably be pissed.

" I have to go talk to Chloe. I'll call you back." Beca said hanging up her phone and looking at Aubrey who was still looking at the computer. " She's going to kill me."

" You both knew that this was going to happen eventually. There was no way that you could keep this secret forever. But you should go in there and tell her before her phone rings and someone else does." Aubrey said though the words barely left her mouth before both of them heard the _"OH MY GOD!"_ from the bedroom that told them that someone had beaten Beca to it.

**A/N: Dun dun dun. :-) up next Chloe's reaction to being thrust into the public eye, the Grammy's, and some Beca with Chloe's family.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

"Come on babe, open the door." Beca pleaded leaning against her bedroom door. She'd given up knocking because it didn't really help Chloe wasn't going to open it. After the initial "Oh My God" that they had heard Beca hadn't heard a word out of her girlfriend. Except that now their bedroom door was locked and Beca wanted nothing more than for Chloe to open the door, even if it was just for Chloe to yell at her.

The two hadn't really discussed what they would do to handle the publicity that would come from their relationship. It was a fantasy to think that their anonymity would last but Beca had hoped that they would be able to do it on their terms. Lucy had been blowing up Beca's phone since Beca had hung up on her and Aubrey was monitoring entertainment websites to see what people were saying.

"Chloe I know you're mad but you gotta talk to me, even if it's just to yell at me." Beca insisted banging on the door, she was minutes from attempting to ram the door. Though it would end up causing more pain than she wanted to think about.

When she heard the lock on her door release she looked Beca practically collapsed out of relief. Pushing the door open Beca saw that Chloe was already on her way back to the bed, she too had been browsing entertainment websites on her lap top desperate to know what people were saying about her. For what felt like forever Chloe didn't say anything, she didn't even look up from her computer.

"I'm sorry." Beca said unable to think of anything else to say. There was very little to gain from the two simple words, and really they were just words. They didn't take back what had happened. They wouldn't make the pictures disappear off of the magazine covers.

"It's fine." The words surprised Beca; out of all the things that she had thought Chloe might say these were not them. Declaring that what had happened was fine; that it didn't bother her Beca was rightfully confused. At her confused look Chloe looked up at Beca and patted the bed next to her. Obediently Beca sat next to Chloe, tucking her leg under her body making herself look almost small.

"Fine?"

"We knew that the world wanted to know what you are up to. You're famous Beca people want to know everything they can about you including who you're dating. I just wasn't ready for it; I guess I just thought that we would make our decision as to when we would announce it to the world. It just took me a while to get my brain wrapped around it." Chloe offered, she still didn't sound like she was completely fine with it. And Chloe wasn't sure that she ever would be. From this point on every time she went out with Beca they would be followed by people wanting to take her picture. She'd always have to think about that when she got ready to make sure she was camera ready.

"It's still not fair. I'm so sorry." Beca felt tears burn in her eyes, guilt overcoming her. She didn't like knowing that Chloe was suffering because of her. It was no secret that she and Chloe fought, there had been times when she had seen Chloe so angry that it looked like the redhead was about to combust, and there were times when she had seen Chloe saddened either by fights or words that Beca had said. But never had she seen Chloe so bothered and knowing that it was her fault made Beca's heart ache.

Chloe looked up when she saw Beca rub at her eyes, her own gaze widening when she saw Beca crying. Reaching out Chloe cupped the side of Beca's face and pulled the brunette closer.

"I'm so sorry." Beca repeated bringing their foreheads together her hands clutching at Chloe's sides. Chloe kissed Beca deeply, tasting the salt of Beca's tears on her lips.

"Don't cry."

"I will fix this." Beca promised.

Beca spent the next several hours on the phone with Lucy; apparently Lucy had been fielding phone calls of her own. Everyone seemed to want to know if Beca was going to bring Chloe to the Grammy's. Chloe had agreed to go to the Grammy's with Beca, and that was going to be their first public appearance together.

"Do you have a dress?" Aubrey asked curiously when topic came to the Grammy's. Beca looked up from her computer momentarily; she'd figured the question was for Chloe. When she saw that Aubrey was looking at her Beca pulled her headphones off of her ears.

"A what?"

"A dress. You know for this little award thingy you've got coming up." Aubrey said.

"Lucy said I don't have to wear a dress. I can wear something more comfortable." Beca had been sure to clear that with Lucy when they had first talked about the Grammy's. Dresses weren't Beca's style and neither was potentially standing in front of hundreds of people and broadcast for millions, so if she had to do that then she wanted to be comfortable while doing it.

"Then what are you wearing?" Aubrey challenged.

"Why don't you come and find out yourself?" Came Beca's retort, seeing Aubrey's eyes widen at the thought. Being a music lover Aubrey had been jealous to find out that Chloe was getting to go to the Grammy's. But she never guessed that Beca would invite her to come along.

"Are you serious?" Aubrey asked.

"Sure." Beca replied seeing Aubrey's smile and knew that she must have just done something right from the way that Aubrey started to beam. The two had gotten past their difference when they both saw how much it bothered Chloe. But this was the first time that it appeared that they were actually friends.

"Thanks Beca."

"You're welcome."

Chloe watched the interaction afraid to say anything for fear that if she called attention to how civil the two of them were being they might stop and never do it again. Instead her heart melted knowing that Beca had no idea what she had just done to make Aubrey's entire year.

"I'll need to get a dress." Aubrey said suddenly.

"That I'll leave in Chloe's capable hands." Beca offered closing her lap top and standing. She still had a lot of work to do and as much as she loved her girlfriend and even Aubrey, the two women were immensely distracting. "I need to run by the studio."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you to." Beca replied pulling her hood over her head. It was a futile tactic that she'd picked up from Lucy. Trying to hide who she was as if people living in their building didn't know who she was. If anything it just kept the photographers from being able to take a good picture of her. If they couldn't see her face then they wouldn't be able to sell the picture.

Beca had been working for hours, her phone announced to her that she had missed three calls from Chloe, seven from Lucy, a dozen or more texts from Jesse and/or Cynthia Rose, and had four voicemails. Still she ignored them, the song she was working on was all wrong. She knew that it was going to be probably the best song she'd ever written if she could just figure out how to get the track to lay down like it did in her head. If she closed her eyes she could hear it playing in her head. The problem was she couldn't figure out how to take what was in her head and make it translate into an actual playable track.

"You know if you keep working like that you're going to be sleeping on the couch." Beca looked up and found Theo standing in the doorway of the studio. He normally would stay out of the studio and hang around the lobby. He was an avid reader and when he was waiting for Beca to be done with whatever she had to do and he wasn't shielding Beca from rabid fans he'd be reading.

"I know. I'm kind of afraid to listen to my voicemails." Beca said stretching her back.

"I'll save you the trouble. Your girl called me, told me to tell you that when you finally were done with your work you can find her in bed waiting for you. And then she added that if you take too long she has Titanium queued up in her headphones." It was clear that Theo didn't understand the inside message of that statement, and Beca wasn't really in the mood to enlighten him.

"Well then I suppose we better go. I happen to know from experience that the couch is not a fun place to sleep." Beca offered saving the work she'd done and standing up. Theo only laughed and followed Beca out of the studio.

The apartment was dark when Beca walked in, dropping her keys as quietly as she could on the table next to the coat rack. Sadly this wasn't an uncommon phenomenon anymore, Aubrey went to bed ridiculously early for a grad student Beca had yet to see the blond pull even one all night study session. And when Aubrey went to sleep Chloe often times retired into her room and watched TV or something so that she didn't keep Aubrey awake. It was a weird system that the two of them had worked out, one that Beca was still trying to acclimatize herself to.

Still it was promising that Beca saw the bedroom light was still on. Opening the bedroom door slowly Beca stopped at the threshold. Laying on the bed, staring at her was her girlfriend wearing nothing but the bed sheet. And even that was only barely covering Chloe's nether regions. If there was one word that Beca could think of that would explain the look on her girlfriends face it would be predatory. Chloe looked like she wanted to devour Beca.

"Uh hi." Beca said once she could convince her brain to function enough to at least walk into the room and close the door. Beca was surprised she even managed that with the way her gaze seemed permanently glued to Chloe's body.

"I missed you." Chloe said holding her hand out and beckoning the brunette forward. Beca began to pull at her clothes on her way towards the bed but was stopped by Chloe shaking her head. When she got to the side of the bed Beca's knees hit the side of the mattress just moments before Chloe sat up and captured Beca's lips with her own.

Beca released a purr of approval when she felt Chloe's hands traveling up her body before settling on the curve of her hip. Still, for all of her forwardness and her taking charge Chloe made no move to remove Beca's clothing. A fact that both made Beca a little nervous and more turned on than she cared to confess.

"Chloe, I think I'm a little overdressed don't you?" Beca asked, her skin was practically burning for Chloe's touch.

"I completely agree. But, you're going to have to wait." Beca looked down at Chloe her eyebrow raised in question. "I had to wait all evening for you. Do you have any idea how frustrating that is? Imagining the way that your fingers were moving over your equipment, have I ever told you how _hot_ it is watching you mix?" Chloe's voice was low and sultry, several octaves lower than her usual voice.

"You never said…" Beca gasped as Chloe's hand cupped her breast with just a bit more force than was necessary. A shiver shot down Beca's spine when Chloe pinched the already hard nipple through the fabric of Beca's shirt and bra.

"Well, it's hot." Beca once again tried to pull at her clothes she was desperate to touch Chloe and be touched by the red head and she had never felt more suffocated by her clothes than she did in that moment.

"You are killing me." Beca groaned.

"I spent pretty much all day thinking about you. You can be a little patient with me." Beca recognized the challenging glint in Chloe's eyes, her girlfriend was up to something and Beca was entire positive that whatever it was would result in something very good.

"I can be patient…within reason." Beca said making sure to add the last bit in otherwise she would be spending the entire night getting tortured in the best way by her girlfriend.

"You have to watch. You aren't allowed to touch." Chloe ordered laying back on the bed and looking up at Beca. While their sex life had never been lacking they had never done anything of this sort before either. Beca knew that while she was in LA Chloe sometimes took matters into her own hands (no pun intended) but they didn't talk about it. The prospect of watching Chloe get herself off, Beca didn't know if she had the restraint to not touch.

Clenching her fists so tightly that Beca could feel her nails digging into her palm she watched as Chloe's hand slid down in between her breasts, over the toned plane of her abs, and disappear beneath the bed sheet. Beca didn't need to see it to know by the sound of Chloe's sharp gasp that Chloe's fingers had just settled between her legs. Their eyes met in a smoldering gaze, Chloe's bright cerulean eyes wide with arousal and Beca's dark with desire.

In truth Beca was torn, she didn't know if she wanted to keep her eyes trained on her girlfriends face and watch as the pleasure played out in Chloe's expressions. Or if she wanted to let her gaze travel to where Chloe's hand had begun to move beneath the sheets.

"Mm Beca." Chloe whimpered fighting to keep her eyes open and looking at Beca. Her fingers moved slowly but with intent, she knew just what she would need in order to bring herself crashing over the edge. And it would be so easy, she was that close already. But she wanted it to last, she wanted Beca to watch her and having Beca watch her was just making her wetter.

"You shout it out, but I can't hear a word you say. I'm talking loud not saying much…" Chloe's eyes practically rolled back as Beca started to sing, but not before Chloe caught the devilish grin Beca wore knowing that this song was Chloe's weakness.

"Not fair." Chloe groaned her hips rising off the bed to meet her hand as her breathing became quicker.

"Neither is forbidding me from touching you." Beca countered.

"Sing to me." Chloe requested her free hand fisting the sheets next to her desperate for something to hold onto.

"I'm criticized but all your bullets ricochet. You shoot me down, but I get up." Beca watched Chloe's hand begin to move faster and her hips rise more desperately. Her hands twitched wanting to intervene and bring Chloe to release instead of watching Chloe do it. But seeing Chloe do it was so unbelievably hot Beca was paralyzed where she stood.

"God Beca, don't stop." Chloe whimpered circling her fingers more intently around her clit.

"I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose. Fire away, fire away. Ricochet you take your aim, fire away, fire away. You shoot me down but I won't fall. I am titanium. You shoot me down but I won't fall. I am titanium." Beca heard the noises Chloe kept making; she knew them well enough to know how close Chloe was. She doubted Chloe would even last through the entire song at this rate. Chloe's eyes returned to Beca's but Beca doubted Chloe was actually seeing her; the redhead was too lost in pleasure already.

"I'm so close." Chloe said biting her bottom lip, moaning when Beca continued to sing.

"Stone-hard, machine gun firing at the ones who run stone-hard as bulletproof glass. You shoot me down but I won't fall, I am Titanium. You shoot me down but I won't fall. I am titanium." Beca finished, as the words fell from her lips she watched Chloe arch off the bed, a barely muffled scream filling the bedroom.

When Chloe finally collapsed back onto the bed Beca was ready to pounce, her entire body was throbbing with desire. Reaching for Chloe's hand Beca pulled Chloe's hand from beneath the sheets to her lips running her tongue over the digits still coated in Chloe's juices.

"I need you Chlo." Beca whispered.

Beca didn't even think she was on the bed before Chloe had her pants undone and her own hand inside Beca's pants. Simultaneously Beca's back hit the mattress and Chloe's fingers slid into Beca finding she was already wet and ready. She would have said something if Chloe hadn't been kissing her, muffling any sounds Beca might have made. When Beca came it was with a violent shudder and a painful bite into Chloe's shoulder.

For several minutes their bedroom was full only of the sounds of their breathing. Beca didn't have the strength to move even though she should have at least moved off of Chloe.

"I…love you." Beca panted when she was able to form words.

"Get out of those clothes." Chloe ordered pulling at Beca's jeans.

"All of this because I spent the day at the studio? If that's what happens then I'm seriously going to spend more time at my studio." Beca laughed looking up at the ceiling while Chloe traced indistinguishable patterns on her stomach.

"Yes and no. I think you did something really awesome today."

" You're going to have to be a little bit more specific. I've done a lot today." Beca replied casually, having no idea what Chloe was talking about.

"Inviting Aubrey to the Grammy's, I know that it means a lot to her and you didn't have to." Chloe explained. Beca looked at Chloe, to her what she did hadn't be that big of a deal. She kind of assumed that Aubrey would always come.

"There are few people who love music as much as you and I. Aubrey should be there."

"See, behind that bad ass front you are a big softy."

"Utter a word of it to anyone and I will deny it."

"So do I need to book a flight or something?"

"The agency is sending a plane."

The next few days were a blur, Beca made the preparations for returning to LA and making sure that she had everything that she needed for the award show. Jesse, Cynthia Rose, and Lucy all seemed to be more nervous about the whole ordeal than Beca. Performing had never been something that made Beca nervous. When she performed she disappeared into the music and she stopped focusing on the people that were watching her. It wasn't for them.

Feeling Chloe tap her thigh Beca looked up from her phone and shook her headphones from her head. They'd arrived at the airport and the car had pulled up right to the airport. Chloe and Aubrey looked like children on Christmas morning practically buzzing with excitement. The plane was the same as they always sent Beca, Chloe had travelled in first class before but she had never had an entire plane.

"This is amazing." Chloe said looking around the cabin of the plane, there was a couch and instead of the rows of seats that were cramped together and always too narrow there were only ten chairs.

"It's pretty awesome huh?" Beca said dropping her lap top case on the table in front of her chair.

"You do travel in style."

* * *

 

"Nervous?" Chloe asked sitting next to Beca as they road to the award ceremony and the red carpet. Beca had asked if there was any way that she could sneak in the back or something, anything to avoid the cameras and the insufferable interviewers. But Lucy had told her that if she didn't stop and talk to at least one of the interviewers then she would be the subject of bad press and Lucy insisted that it was in both Beca and Chloe's best interest to get on the good side of the press.

"Kinda." Beca offered.

"You'll be great. And by the end of the night you're going to be Grammy Award Winner Beca Mitchell." Chloe beamed. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that Beca wouldn't win in the categories she was nominated in.

When the limo pulled to a stop Beca could see the red carpet and her nerves started to nag at her. She had never done a red carpet before. Feeling Chloe squeeze her hand reassuringly Beca opened the door and the flash bulbs erupted. It had taken a lot of convincing to get Beca even to wear anything other than her typical tank top and jeans. But Chloe had insisted on taking Beca shopping and find something that she could wear that was worthy of the occasion. They had bought Beca a new pair of jeans that Chloe thought amazing on Beca. But she had convinced Beca to wear a white button down blouse that was fitted perfectly to Beca with a sleeveless gray blouse.

Over the shouts by photographers to get her attention Beca's grip on Chloe's hand tightened. The redhead looked breathtaking in a blue gown that Beca looked forward to taking off of Chloe later that night.

"Beca over here! Look this way! Beca!" Beca stopped where she could pose for photos and after what seemed like an eternity they were able to go and find their way inside.

Chloe walked into the auditorium looking at all the music artists that she had been listening to on the radio. People that before Beca she had never imagined she would see in person let alone be up close and personal with them. Once they were sitting down Beca allowed herself to relax, sitting with Chloe the two talked and commented on different artists that were sitting next to her. There were a few that came up to her and struck up conversation about music to which Chloe was surprised she was invited to participate. Most of the people they spoke to were pretty down to earth, there weren't as many big egos as Chloe expected there might be.

When it came time for the first award that Beca was nominated for Chloe looked over at Beca and saw that the brunette was unreadable. That meant that Beca was nervous.

"And the Grammy for Breakout Artist of the Year is…Beca Mitchell." The auditorium erupted into applause as one of Beca's songs began to play. Beca looked over at Chloe, a smile spreading on her face and she leaned forward and brushed her lips against Chloe's. A gesture that surprised Chloe because it was such a public display.

"I love you." Beca said before she stood and made her way up to the stage. Taking the award offered to her Beca turned towards the audience and smiled.

"Thank you so much, it's been a Hell of a year. I want to thank my fans and everyone who bought my songs to support me when I was still unknown. My record company who supported me and the music I wanted to make. My friends who are really my family: Amy, Cynthia Rose, Stacie, Lily, Denise, Jessica, Ashley, and Jesse. And of course Chloe, the most amazing person in the entire world and no surprise to anyone my better half."

As she left the stage the crowd was still applauding. The night went by in a blur after that. Beca won every award that she was nominated for and her performance went off without a hitch and was easily the best performance of the night. In was clear to everyone that Beca Mitchell was definitely someone that had star power.

After the award ceremony ended and the after parties started they were joined by Jesse, Cynthia Rose, and Aubrey. Sitting around one of the tables away from the dance floor Beca leaned back into the booth sipping on her first drink of the night, and probably her only if Beca had any say in it she looked over at Chloe.

"Did you have fun?" Beca asked curiously. Her girlfriend turned to her with a surprised expression.

"I did. How could I not?" Chloe asked.

"Just checking."

"I still can't believe that you told the world that I was your better half." Chloe hadn't believed her ears when she had heard Beca say it. Beca wasn't usually very good with romantic gestures but Chloe had never been so touched.

"I think that everyone knows that."

They danced and they bumped sounders with other artists and celebrities until the wee hours of the morning. Not leaving the last club until the sky had already started to grow lighter with the impending dawn. When they got back to Beca's condo that meant that they had to return to the real world and they would slip out of the dream that the night had turned out to be. They were both floating on cloud nine, and nothing could touch them.

**Present Day**

Chloe was getting increasingly nervous as time passed, she was about to meet her son. Things hadn't exactly gone the way that she had imaged that they would, she had spent the first days of her son's life unconscious, recovering from surgery. But now sitting on the hospital bed she was actually nervous. She'd gotten a text from Beca that said that they were going to be on their way to Chloe's room.

Since she'd woken up she had her parents around and her family and friends all coming in and spending time with her so that she wasn't alone. But they had all decided that when Beca arrived with the baby then it would just be the three of them and Chloe would be allowed to spend time with her family, with her baby and bond.

When the door opened Chloe shifted on the bed, she saw Beca and their eyes met and they shared a smile.

"Hey." Beca greeted walking into the room holding their son in her arms and bringing him towards Chloe knowing that Chloe would want to hold the tiny baby as soon as possible.

"Hi, who do you have there?" Chloe asked softly, her voice hushing when she assumed that the infant was sleeping. Reaching the side of Chloe's bed Beca turned so that Chloe could see the sleeping baby.

"This is your son."

"Our son." Chloe corrected reaching out for the baby and Beca transitioned the baby into Chloe's arms and watched the redhead interact for the first time with their son. It stole Beca's breath, the way that Chloe was looking down at the sleeping baby with such complete love.

"I love you." Beca said. She hadn't realized how stressed, how terrified she had been that she might lose Chloe until she actually saw Chloe sitting there healthy. She started to cry, and for someone who didn't cry often it was such an odd release of emotion. Her family was okay. That was the only thought that Beca was clinging to, her family was going to be okay.

"He's perfect."

"You both are." Running her fingers through Chloe's hair, as if somehow touching Chloe cemented the fact that the hard part was over.

"What are we going to name him?"

"What do you think we should name him?" Beca hadn't even thought about it. They hadn't thought about it.

"I have an idea." Chloe said for the first time taking her eyes off of her son and looked up at Beca.

"Ideas are good."

"What do you think about David." Chloe suggested. Beca got the reference almost immediately.

"After David Guetta?"

"Mhm."

"Well, what do you think little man? Are you a David?" Beca asked looking down at her son and seeing what was probably just a twitch but either way it was a sign that he approved.

"I think he likes it."

"I do to."

"David Beale-Mitchell."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – Past

"DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME BECA MITCHELL!" Chloe's rage filled voice echoed in their apartment ensuring that the brunette who had only moments earlier vacated the living room heard her. They'd been going at it for hours, what had started as an innocent question had launched into thermonuclear war in the span of a few minutes.

"JUST BECAUSE YOU USE MY FULL NAME DOESN'T MEAN I'M GOING TO DO WHAT YOU TELL ME." Came Beca's reply from what sounded like their bedroom. Chloe was exhausted; she definitely had not planned on spending her Saturday fighting with Beca. Especially since they needed to start getting ready to go to Chloe's parents for a party they were throwing.

They'd been avoiding the topic for a while; or rather Chloe had been avoiding mentioning it to Beca because in the back of her mind she knew that this was the response she would get. But the facts were getting harder and harder to deny. She wanted to get married; she wanted to have the dream wedding that she'd spend her childhood obsessing over. She wanted the dress and the reception and the fairytale every little girl dreams of when they think of their wedding day. But Chloe didn't count on falling in love with someone who was against the institution of marriage.

"Beca please come back here so we can talk about this. I don't want to fight anymore; I just want to talk about it." Chloe pleaded standing in the center of the living room, her stance deflated and her shoulders hunched. After a few moments Beca emerged from the hallway, peaking around the corner as if she was expecting Chloe to throw something at her.

"There isn't anything to talk about Chloe, I don't believe in marriage. I think it's stupid that we should need a piece of paper to state that we are a committed couple." Beca insisted, she'd stopped yelling but her tone was no less combative. Defeated Chloe ran her hands through her hair and looked at Beca, her eyes shining with angry tears.

"So what I want doesn't matter? Just because your life plan doesn't involve marriage that means that I need to give up on the fact that mine does? That's selfish Beca."

"You knew this about me when we got together. Or did you just expect me to be so love stuck that I would agree?"

They were at a stalemate and they both knew it. There would be no solving it on this day or in the foreseeable future but if they didn't figure something out then they were going to have serious problems down the road. Chloe didn't want to brush it under the rug anymore they were at a point in their relationship where they should know if they were going to get married or not. It didn't help of course that every time she looked at a magazine cover there was some tagline questioning when they were going to get married.

"Look we need to get ready for the party." Chloe said her eyes pleading with Beca. It wasn't often that Beca was around to go to one of these work parties with Chloe and most of the time Chloe didn't mind. But she had been looking forward to it and for once she wanted to have her girlfriend there so she didn't feel so alone surrounded by her co-workers and their significant others.

"I need to go out and clear my head." Beca announced backing up towards the door. It was then that Chloe noticed that Beca had put on her shoes and grabbed her bag. A fear crept into Chloe seeing that, it had been something she'd never felt before and it terrified her.

"Please don't go." Chloe pleaded moving towards Beca.

"I just need to think. I'll meet you there." Beca said turning and leaving.

* * *

 

"Would you stop watching the door? She said she would meet you here so just accept that she got stuck in traffic or something." Connor said bringing Chloe another drink. It didn't take Sherlock Holmes to recognize that Chloe was preoccupied, and had been since she got to her parent's house. They way that she kept looking at the door in hopes that she would see Beca walking in and feeling the disappointment every time she didn't.

"Sorry, we just…we got into a fight earlier." Chloe confessed seeing the smile on her brother's face morph into concern. He didn't think that Beca and Chloe ever fought, they were that couple everyone loved to hate because they were so perfect together.

"What was it about?" Connor asked pulling Chloe closer to the wall and out of earshot of most of the people around.

"It was stupid, we were talking about marriage and she doesn't want to get married." Chloe said.

"Did she say why?"

"Her parents had a terrible divorce and it kind of soured her opinion on marriage." Chloe explained vaguely. She didn't want to launch into Beca's life story with her brother, even if Connor and Beca did have a close relationship on their own.

"But you want to marry her?"

"Of course I do. It's not for the legal aspect of it, it's just because I want to have that dream wedding, and I want to be her wife. I've always dreamed about it. It's childish but it's true." Chloe explained.

"I'm sure you guys will work it out. She practically worships the ground you walk on. She'll come around." Chloe wanted to believe that was true, but she had seen the look in Beca's eyes. The steadfast determination that she was not going to give in, and that left her with the question of if she could make her peace with not marrying Beca as long as she could still be with Beca that should be enough right?

"Yeah I guess."

"Hey looks like your lady love is here." Connor said nudging Chloe and pointing her in the direction of the door where Chloe saw Beca walking in casually. As usual whenever Beca went anywhere people noticed her and she attracted their attention. Thankfully, with this being a slightly older crowd while they might know her but they weren't her usual fans.

Beca looked around the room until she found Chloe, not that it was that difficult with Chloe's red hair. Crossing the room Beca stopped briefly to grab a drink from the waiter and then came over to stand next to Chloe. With just a look Chloe could tell that Beca was still angry, wherever she'd gone to clear her head it hadn't worked as well as Chloe would have liked. But still it was a promising sign that Beca was standing next to her.

"Did I miss anything good yet?" Beca asked curiously around the rim of her glass.

"Nope, just the usual mingling." Chloe answered testing the waters by running her hand along the back of Beca's to see if Beca would allow her to hold her hand. Beca's eyes flickered down at their hands, a conflicted look on her face before she angled her hand ever so slightly for Chloe to take her hand. The simple movement was enough to help Chloe relax, think that they might be okay at least for the night.

"I love you." Beca said softly so that only Chloe could hear her. It was strange to know that Beca said she loved Chloe more when they were fighting then when they were getting along. Beca had said that it was because when they were angry with each other that she felt like she needed to remind Chloe that she loved her. Right now Chloe had never been more grateful for that.

"I love you too."

They didn't talk about it after that, sweeping it under the rug for the time being just because neither of them wanted to fight. It was stupid, and both of them knew deep down that they should just deal with it so that it didn't haunt them like the elephant in the room. But it was easier playing ignorant.

"Would you stop looking like a puppy died? This is exciting, _you_ need to be excited!" Chloe demanded though her tone lacked any anger and instead there was amusement and confusion. For days she'd watched Beca walk around their apartment looking more like the girl she'd met at Barden and less like the bold woman Beca had become over the years.

"I am!" Beca insisted even though she didn't believe that claim. Chloe's eyes narrowed and when she placed her hand on her hip Beca knew that Chloe wasn't buying that.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I know you better than you know yourself sometimes and lying to me is really pointless? So, why don't you just tell me what's wrong so it saves me the time of having to guess."

"Nothing is wrong. I mean, nothing should be wrong. This is what I wanted right? I wanted to produce music that people enjoyed and that I was proud of and I have. But I don't want to go on this tour." Beca confessed falling onto the couch, curling her legs under her while she made herself into as small of a ball as she could. Chloe walked over to the couch and knelt down in front of Beca taking the brunette's hands in hers.

"Why?" Beca didn't know how to voice what she was thinking, what she was feeling, and putting words to emotions had never been her strong suit.

"Because distance is what killed us last time." Beca finally forced out. Her voice was so quiet that Chloe had to strain to hear it. But the younger girl refused to look into the redheads eyes.

"Aw that's not going to happen this time Bec." Chloe insisted her heart breaking and also melting at the sincerity of emotion she heard from Beca. Even after all their time together Chloe still had to fight for the brutally honest emotion that she had just heard from Beca. Most of the time Chloe could tell what Beca was feeling just because she knew the brunette as well as she did, but Beca was truly afraid that if she went on this tour then what they had would end.

"How do you know that? We definitely didn't expect our relationship to end last time either. We thought that we would be that couple that defied the odds of a long distance relationship but still distance broke us. And now I finally have you back and we are in a good place, a great place even and I have to go away again for six months. How can you tell me that we won't have the same problems as we did before?" Beca challenged. They had never talked about it, what ultimately led up to their break up. They both knew the root cause, the distance. But they had never talked about why the distance had conquered them. If they could have prevented it, or if they did all they could but it wasn't enough.

"It's a tour Beca. Your life isn't going to be on the road. Our lives were in two separate places before. You were at Barden and I was in New York, and then you were in LA. That's why we started to fall apart Beca because our lives didn't include the other. But you're going to be on the tour for a few months and then you're going to come back and we'll go back to our lives." Chloe promised. She sounded so confident and Beca wished that she could have some of that confidence but she was just too afraid to lose Chloe.

"It is pretty great right?" Beca asked allowing herself to get slightly more excited. When they approached Beca about the idea of touring she had resisted the idea even though the argument was made about how great she would do live. Whenever she showed up at clubs people went crazy for it, and there would be lines out the door around the block just to get in for a song or two. They emphasized that she was extremely marketable coming off of her Grammy wins.

"It's amazing."

Beca was going to reply with her own snarky remark when her phone rang sounding vaguely like the Imperial March from Star Wars. But Chloe's interest was piqued as to who Beca would actually give such an ominous ring tone to.

"Hey Lucy." Beca greeted and Chloe understood. Beca's relationship with her publicist was most of the time a positive one, but Lucy was also the one that made Beca do all the things she disliked about her job as a 'celebrity'. All of the interviews Beca had been forced to sit through were set up by Lucy despite Beca's explicit distain for people probing into her personal life.

" _I need you to come to the studio and meet with the Tour Manager."_ Lucy said for way of greeting.

"I don't want to." Beca said.

" _Beca, babe I love you but get your ass down here and do not make me come get you."_ Beca groaned as she hung up her phone and looked pleadingly at Chloe hoping she had some excuse for her not to go.

"Go. I'll see you when you get home later."

"You're my girlfriend; you're supposed to be on my side." Beca grumbled as she turned towards her bedroom to go get changed into something that Lucy wouldn't kill her for wearing.

"I am on your side!" Chloe called after Beca.

The man that stood in front of Beca looked to be at least 6'2", which meant that he towered over Beca and the intimidation factor skyrocketed. Technically she was the celebrity, he should be the one that was trying to impress her but Beca felt like she was being sent to the Principal's office after doing something terrible. But when he saw her he smiled and extended his hand.

"Beca, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." He said shaking her hand firmly.

"Likewise?" Beca couldn't quite keep the question from her tone but she was always unsure what to do when she met new people.

"Beca this is Mark Gaines, he's one of the best tour managers in the industry. It'll be his job to make sure the tour goes off without a hitch. You'll be in good hands." Lucy promised. Dutifully, Beca sat and she listened to what his vision for the tour was. Occasionally he would ask her what she thought of his ideas, or if they fit into what she had envisioned for her tour. Strangely Mark reminded Beca a lot of her father, and she was on the fence on if that was a good thing or not. Even though Beca and Warren had gotten on a better footing following her freshmen year at Barden it was a stretch to call the relationship they had a truly close one.

"Do you have any questions Beca? I want to make sure that you're comfortable with all of this before we go through with it. If you want to change things you should say so now." Mark recommended as they packed up for the day.

"I think I'm good. It looks like we see a lot of things eye to eye."

"That's what I like to hear. Well, I'll see you in a few days when we sit down and go over the schedule for the tour." His eyes twinkled at her as he said this; there was something about him that put her at ease, a feat not easily accomplished but it was encouraging since they were going to be spending such a long period of time together. They shook hands and parted ways Lucy following Beca towards the elevator.

"I told him you were in a relationship." Lucy announced once the door closed.

"Okay." Beca said not sure why that was important other than he should know what was going on in Beca's personal life so that he could better work with her.

"So that he won't arrange to have girls come to the tour you know?" Lucy finished in a hushed voice even though they were alone in the elevator.

"Is that what Tour managers do? They hook artists up with groupies that will have sex with them?" Beca asked curiously.

"Some of them."

"Well I don't think that we have to worry about that. Chloe would kick my ass if I cheated on her." Beca said with a playful smile. Lucy had seen enough of Beca around Chloe to know that cheating on the redhead was the furthest thing from Beca's mind. In fact Lucy was sure that half the time Beca didn't even notice anyone else she was too blinded by Chloe.

"I have no doubt that she would."

It was kind of amazing how easy it was to fall into business mode once she was on the plane to start her tour. It was easy to just fall head first into the details and all the things that she was going to do. She had a person for pretty much everything; Mark oversaw everything but there was someone to head each department. It was a well-oiled, well-practiced mini army that was going to help her be successful on the tour. And she warmed up to Mark even more than she thought she would, mainly because he proved he wasn't one of those ego maniac, control freak that liked to run the show. Instead he listened to her; they talked at length about what Beca wanted and didn't want for the tour. And for the most part he sat and listened, offered his advice about how much of what she wanted was practical and how much of it had to change.

There were nerves of course for the first show, she was a nervous wreck for most of the day but all of that disappeared the moment she stepped on stage. The roar of the audience was almost deafening, and when she started to queue up her music it was a like overwhelming aura of peace came over her. This was where she was supposed to be. This was what she was supposed to do. She played for hours, but it felt like minutes, one long consecutive stream of music that was over too quickly.

She had gotten off the stage and was walking towards her dressing room while dialing Chloe's phone number. They had talked about it before she went on stage and Chloe had promised that she would stay awake so that Beca could call her afterward.

"Oh My God! Chloe it was amazing." Beca beamed.

"I'm so glad baby. Tell me everything." Chloe insisted. They talked for a good hour before Mark came to collect her to leave the venue so they could go back to the hotel.

Leaving the venue that first night Beca still felt like she was buzzing with energy, her mind racing with ideas of new songs and new mash ups that she wanted to try. And then the car stopped, they were nowhere near their hotel; in fact they were in an ally way behind some buildings. From inside the car Beca could hear the familiar vibrations of bass.

"Where are we?"

"Nox. It's one of the hottest nightclubs in town." Mark answered with a mischievous glint in his eyes that made Beca more than a little nervous.

"Okay, why are we here?"

"You're going to perform."

"I'm going to _what?!"_ Beca cried looking at Lucy for some indication that Mark might have been joking. But both he and Lucy looked far too serious to be joking.

"Perform, what you did tonight only you're going to play something new that you didn't perform tonight." Mark instructed sounding as if what he was asking her was as simple as crossing a street.

"I don't have anything with me right now." Beca argued.

"You have your flash drives. I've travelled with you long enough to know that those are never far from your reach." He insisted.

"Those aren't ready to be heard by anyone. Chloe hasn't even heard any of those and she hears everything first." Beca said getting increasingly agitated that Mark seemed insistent that she do this.

"Beca, I've listened to your raw stuff. You have a lot of talent, sometimes the best stuff that an artist can come up with is stuff they haven't spent days tweaking. I'm sure whatever you've got is brilliant. And you need to go in there and play it for a live audience because it's going to be great for your image." Mark insisted.

"And if I refuse?" Beca challenged.

"Then I walk." Mark announced, clearly not the answer that Lucy was expected if the dropping of her cell phone was any indication.

"You're under contract." Lucy said joining in on the argument.

"I have faith in you Beca. Do you have faith in yourself? You can do this, and that club right next to us has been playing your music all night. Imagine what it would mean for those people to be able to hear you perform live for them."

Beca didn't know what inspired her to actually get out of the car, hauling her lap top with her and holding her most recent flash drive in a death grip in her hand. They snuck in the back of the club, expected by the owner and the staff but unknown to anyone else. Beca was led up to the DJ booth where there was the traditional set up, all she needed to do was plug in her lap top to the equipment and she would be good to go. But the club was packed. There were at least a hundred people filling the club to capacity, and none of them any the wiser that she was there.

"Ladies and Gentlemen I want you to put your hands together for tonight's guest DJ Beca Mitchell!" There was a moment where the club fell instantly into silence. No one believing what they had just heard. Most of them were under the impression that Beca was at the performance hall. But when they all saw her standing on the DJ platform the roar of cheers and applause was just deafening. Beca had thought that it was loud before but in such a confined space it was so much louder now.

When the first few bars of her songs went out through the speakers it took a while before anyone really started to get into the music. There was something so enticing, something so beautiful about raw music. And it sounded raw, there wasn't that polished edge to it but it sounded nice and by the time the second song had begun playing the crowd was actively enjoying the music. With most of the fear abated Beca glanced at Mark who wore the most arrogant and smug look on his face that Beca wanted to be mad. And she would have been if it hadn't have been brilliant.

It became a thing after that; it became something that Beca did after her shows. She never knew where they were going or where she would perform. That she left completely in Mark's capable hands. And the publicity was crazy for it, Twitter lit up every time Beca had a show speculating which club she would show up at. But that also came with a downside; sleep was becoming one of the vague memories that haunted her during her waking hours. Performing into the early hours of the morning the same night that she had a show would often leave her incredibly sleep deprived.

Mark said that it was all par for the course, that to keep people entertained she needed to be willing to sacrifice a few nights or what ultimately turned into a few weeks of little sleep and constant moving. By the time Beca was half through her tour Beca managed to maintain her persona, she didn't look like a walking zombie when she was on stage but when she was off stage that was a different story.

"Hey Beca, what is this?" Beca looked up seeing Mark standing at the entrance of her tour bus holding a piece of paper.

"Uh…a piece of paper?" Beca asked confused, she couldn't see the paper and had no idea what it said but from the look on Mark's face she was guessing that he wasn't pleased about it.

"You're going back to New York."

"Just for a few days between performances, don't worry I checked the calendar and I don't have anything to do on those days. Thought I'd go home and see Chloe." Beca explained.

"I don't think you should go." His statement was surprising. He didn't sound angry that she was going, if anything it was more simply a statement of fact. That was how he felt and he was telling her as much. In a way she had to respect the honesty.

"Why?"

"Because you're doing great, you're halfway through the tour and I think going home will make you lose focus. I think that you should just stay here, take the days maybe explore the city and rest up but keep your head in the game."

"Look, thanks but it's been almost two months and I need to see my girlfriend. I won't lose focus, if anything when I come back I'll be even more focused."

"Alright, have a safe trip."

"Thanks."

She was exhausted that was the only thing that Chloe could think about as she stumbled into her apartment and discarded her keys onto the table next to the door. She'd been working long hours to try and keep her mind off the depressing fact that she would be coming home to an empty bed. It was kind of nice when she was so tired she didn't care that her bed was half empty, that her petite girlfriend wouldn't be there taking up most of the space. Though Beca denied it to her last breath the DJ had a talent for spreading out on the bed so that Chloe would often times only have enough space to curl up into a ball. If it weren't so damned cute it would have posed a serious issue in their relationship.

The apartment was mostly dark, except for the kitchen light which Aubrey left on for her so she could navigate the apartment without stubbing her toe on anything. But this time something caught Chloe's attention as she passed. It was a bright pink Post-It note with Aubrey's neat handwriting on it.

_Went out. Enjoy!_

Confusion marring her face Chloe flipped the note over hoping there might be some clue as to what her best friend might have meant. Enjoy what? Taking a hot shower and going to bed? While that did sound like Heaven Chloe wasn't sure it warranted a special note from Aubrey. Deciding she would figure out what Aubrey meant once she had changed into her pajama's she turned towards her room. And that's when she noticed that her bedroom light was on, there was a thin strip of golden light coming from beneath the door.

Pushing open the door Chloe saw that her bedroom had been decorated with hundreds of candles placed strategically around the room to give off a beautiful glow. Music played through the room faintly, she recognized the tune but the words had been taken away. Silently Chloe prayed she wasn't dreaming this. Noticing that there was something laying on her neatly folded bed Chloe inched towards it to see what it was. If it was possible her smile grew more radiant when she saw what had been staged on the bed. There was a cassette tape with the tape pulled out to spell 'Just the way you are' like the music video.

"Hi." Turning around Chloe saw Beca leaning against the doorway with her hands shoved nervously in her jeans pockets. Beca always claimed to not have a romantic bone in her body, she hated all things cheesy and cliché and yet she would do things like this to surprise Chloe. Each time Chloe was sure she fell a little more in love with Beca.

"You're here." Was all Chloe could manage as she began to gravitate towards Beca. She wasn't even consciously aware that she was moving, her body knew where it needed to be without her mind telling her so. Beca met her half way, neither one of them speaking because no words seemed right, words weren't enough to express what each of them felt in that moment. Beca had reconciled the fact that she missed Chloe, but without Chloe there it was easy to push that deep down so that she didn't have to deal with the potent ache that always came when she woke up alone, or when she didn't have Chloe to curl up to at night. But now seeing Chloe, getting lost in the endless blue of Chloe's eyes, it made Beca wonder how she survived.

Chloe was the first to initiate contact, placing her hands on either side of Beca's face. Her delicate fingers tracing the memorized contours of Beca's face as if looking for any hint that Beca had changed. Beca couldn't help but lean into Chloe's hands feeling the warmth, she smiled a coy half smile before her hand slid down Chloe's sides before settling on the curve of her hip.

Neither of them looked away, they continued to look at one another having an entire conversation without words. The affirmation of the love they shared, the acknowledgement of how much they missed the other, and the want to never need to be apart again, all of that emotion poured out of them. Beca knew if she tried to voice it the message would somehow get lost and she would invariably mess it up.

It didn't matter to them which one initiated the first kiss; it might have been both of them simultaneously. Beca tilted her head up, Chloe dipped her head down and before either of them knew it their lips were touching. Chloe's lips moved with a familiar determination that sent shivers down Beca's spine and made her cling tighter to Chloe or else she might fall. Beca's lips parted and her tongue readily met Chloe's, hearing a soft sound escape Chloe's lips Beca responded by pulling Chloe tighter to her until they were standing flush against one another.

As their kiss began to grow in fervor, with every sweep of Beca's tongue against her own Chloe felt her nerve endings threaten to explode in the most pleasurable way. Their kisses in the past had never been lacking, they had always held their own special quality with none of them ever being the same. But this was different, there was a magic to this kiss that both knew could never be replicated and it made them that much more reluctant to end it. Still Chloe finally broke the kiss and leaned against Beca, their foreheads touching.

"You're here." Chloe repeated a soft smile gracing her face.

"I had a few days gap between shows and I told them that I wanted to come home to be with you." Beca explained bringing them both closer to the bed while keeping them as close as together as possible. Gently pushing Chloe down onto the bed Beca straddled Chloe's lap and attached her lips to the skin of Chloe's neck leaving searing kisses wherever she could knowing what such deliberate kisses would do to Chloe.

"I missed you." Chloe murmured breath hitching in her through when Beca bit down on the overly sensitive skin where Chloe's neck met her collarbone.

"Show me." Beca challenged her eyes sparkling mischievously as she looked up at Chloe.

"Aubrey is really lucky she wasn't home." Chloe commented as she stared at her ceiling still dazed from the hours of seemingly endless pleasure she'd just enjoyed. She lay covered only in a thin sheet though it was more for warmth than modesty, using Beca's stomach as a pillow while the brunette was propped up against the headboard.

"I got her a room at the Westin for the night." Beca commented, when she'd come back and told Aubrey what she had planned the blonde seemed to have no problem wanting to vacate their apartment for a while.

"Why don't we go get our own place? That way we won't have to worry about whether Aubrey is home or not." Chloe asked the question so nonchalantly that it took Beca by surprise. They hadn't ever talked about moving in together, even though it seemed like that was a logical step for the both of them. Chloe had always lived with Aubrey and since Beca was flying back and forth from LA it had never really come up.

"Yeah we can do that when I get back." Beca managed to say once she remembered how to talk. She was proud of herself for not freaking out at the thought of officially moving in with Chloe even though they had been unofficially living together since they reunited.

"Really?" Chloe asked looking up at Beca. She'd thought that it would be a little more difficult to convince Beca to make that move.

"It makes sense. I just figured that since you and Aubrey are like…attached at the hip it would be harder for me to convince you that we need to live somewhere she isn't." Beca explained receiving a poke in the ribs for her comment.

"It'll be tough we always figured we'd live together until we were ready to get married and all that stuff. But I think it's time, it just means that you have to be home more so that I'm not here all alone." The last part of her statement was said in jest and they both knew it, but Beca had mostly tuned out at that point. Chloe had said the 'M' word. It was yet another thing that the two of them had never talked about. Beca had made her stance on marriage well known; she didn't believe in it, she thought that marriage was the destroyer of good things.

"Why don't you start looking for places while the tour finishes up and then when I get back we'll start narrowing it down?" Beca suggested choosing to ignore the fact that Chloe had in the span of five minutes mentioned both moving in together and the possibility that they were going to have the marriage conversation very soon.

"If you're okay with that."

" Chloe I don't care where we live, you'll be there, that's pretty much all that matters to me. Ooh, that and an extra bedroom for an office. Otherwise you can find any place you'd like." Beca said and it was true she wasn't big into the particular look of an apartment or condo or whatever it was.

"You're being surprisingly cool about this."

"Should I be insulted by that?" Beca asked looking down at Chloe and seeing the redhead shift so that they could look at each other.

"Nono I just didn't think you'd be so ready for such a big step."

"Chloe how many times do I have to tell you that you're it for me? And you're right we already practically live together so we might as well make it official someplace where we don't have to schedule sex around when Aubrey has a final." True that had only happened once but Chloe knew that Beca had still been bitter when she'd come back from LA but Aubrey had needed silence to study for a final and both of them knew Chloe couldn't be quiet.

"Okay."

"Good, let's get some sleep so we can make the most of the days I'm here before I have to go back."

For as tired as she was Beca barely slept that night, tossing and turning for most of it while she thought about what Chloe had said. Chloe still wanted to get married, not that Beca truly expected that to change. Feeling Chloe shift against her side Beca looked down just as Chloe's eyes fluttered open. For a moment Beca was able to forget the brewing storm that was coming and just linger in the thought that she was home with the love of her life.

"I forgot how good it was to have you here when I wake up." Chloe said wrapping Beca in a near bone crushing hug. Clearly Chloe had been a snake in her previous life.

"I've dreamt about it while on the road." Beca confessed honestly. In the early days of the tour Beca had been forced to cuddle with a pillow because she missed Chloe so much.

"How long are you back for?" Chloe asked already getting out of bed. She always had too much energy to lie in bed all day usually cuddling was reserved for night time before bed.

"Four days." Beca answered sitting up, watching Chloe collect her clothes, walking around their room in all her glory.

"I'll have to call dad and get some days off."

"Hey Chlo?" Beca called trying to get Chloe's attention.

"Hmm?"

"You want to get married don't you?" Beca's question made Chloe stop in her collecting of clothes leaving her half-dressed at best.

"What are you talking about?"

"Last night, you said that you and Aubrey always talked about living together until you got married. If we move out together on our own, then the next step is marriage right?" Chloe couldn't tell by Beca's tone where she was going with the question.

"I do want to get married. I've always wanted to get married ever since I was a little girl."

"What if I don't ever want to get married?" Beca asked unable to look at Chloe for fear of what the answer might be. And really Chloe didn't know how to answer that either. She didn't know if that would be okay, if it would be alright that she wouldn't ever have the wedding she dreamt about.

"You should get dressed; we'll talk about it in the kitchen." Beca did as she was told and came out to the kitchen in a pair of warn jeans and a tank top and her hair pulled up in a messy bun. Chloe stood with her back to Beca preparing coffee, both of them would need to be awake for them to have this conversation.

"You know why I don't want to get married Chloe. We've talked about it before, and you know my reasons." Beca started her arms crossing over chest.

"That doesn't mean that I can stop myself from needing it to be happy." Chloe offered her eyes narrowing when she heard Beca scoff.

"Then you need to sort out your priorities if a wedding is what you need to be happy."

"It's a wedding I want, it's a marriage I need. And I can't have either without you." Beca couldn't help but note the contradiction of Chloe's actions versus her words. There was no doubt that they were fighting but Chloe was preparing her coffee just the way Beca liked it and passed the mug to Beca.

"Why would being married be any different? We're already tearing each other apart might as well save ourselves a step." Beca fired back.

"So you're parent's marriage failed. That doesn't mean that ours will. We're not them." Chloe insisted.

"Haven't I given you enough already? Why are you making me do this?"

"I don't want to make you do anything."

"How is a stupid ring and a piece of paper going to make what we feel for each other any clearer? I gave you a ring once and look how well that worked out for me." Beca said seeing Chloe's eyes flicker down to the ring that still rested on her finger.

"That was a long time ago."

"So that means it doesn't count?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"It's not about a ring or a piece of paper. It's about commitment. It's about forever." Chloe offered.

"What do you know about forever? You had a guy every week when we were at school. You were in the middle of fucking a guy when you cornered me in the shower. How many guys did you sleep with after you broke up with me?" Beca demanded knowing that she was hitting Chloe below the belt, from the pain and the anger that she saw cross over Chloe's face Beca knew that she'd struck a nerve. And she didn't care.

"How dare you!" Chloe growled.

"You wanted honesty."

"Don't confuse honesty with cruelty. You don't want to get married because you're afraid of turning out just like your dad. Maybe you're more like him then you think."

"Then why would you want to marry me? I'm just an emotionally damaged girl with commitment issues. That's who I've always been don't act like this is a surprise to you. I told you I never wanted to get married, if this was going to be such a big issue why did you even let this start?" Beca challenged.

"Because I thought I'd proved to you that it was worth it."

"How?" Beca asked her blood boiling with anger. All of the repressed hurt; all of the things that she'd pushed down thinking that it didn't matter anymore because they were back together came rushing back. Even seeing tears in Chloe's eyes didn't make her regret her words even though she knew that she should. She wanted Chloe to hurt, she wanted Chloe to realize how she'd hurt her. It took Chloe several minutes to recover enough to remember how to breathe there was such venom in Beca's tone, such anger in her words.

"I'm still here."

"For how long this time."

"That's the point of this, I'm not going anywhere. I'm in this forever Beca."

"I don't trust you with forever."

Tears strained the words, Chloe abashedly explained "I left you-"

"I needed it!" Exploded from Beca, surprising them both. Confusing them both. Neither of them knew what to make of the statement least of all Beca. And for several long, and heart breaking moments the two stared at one another afraid to say anything that might make it worse. Wordlessly Beca retreated out of the living room and down the hall towards their bedroom. Thankfully she hadn't had a lot of time to unpack so all she needed to do was take her duffle bag and leave. Every possible objection halted on Chloe's lips as she watched Beca go.

They had fought before, long and drawn out yelling matches that left both of them hoarse. They had even had a few fights that went on for a few days but neither of them ever left before. Normally Beca would go into her office and she would spend hours mixing, getting out her aggression with her music. They would come back together after a while and they would calmly talk it out until they had come to an agreement, even if it was agreeing to disagree.

Unfortunately it didn't look like agreeing to disagree was going to work on this one because it would mean that one of them was going to give in and be miserable. Beca thought about it the entire flight back to meet up with her tour. Marriage was something she'd never wanted, she had been against it since she saw how it tore her parents apart. It was easier to blame the institution of marriage as the reason that her childhood was ruined. Beca didn't understand why it was important to Chloe to have a piece of paper that declared that they were legally bound to one another. Beca was committed to Chloe, and if Chloe didn't know that by then getting married wouldn't fix that.

Warren stumbled blindly to the door at hearing the pounding that was echoing throughout his house. When he opened the door he expected to see police possibly, something that might explain the late hour visit. He didn't expect to see Beca standing on his doorstep looking uneasy, fidgeting because she didn't quite know what to do with herself.

"Beca? Is everything okay?" Warren asked ushering his daughter inside.

"Sorry it's really late. I seem to be doing that to people a lot. Dropping in late at night and bothering them." Beca rambled.

"It's alright, tell me what's going on. Are you okay? What happened?" Warren asked his worry for his daughter multiplying the longer it took Beca to respond.

"Chloe and I got into a fight. A pretty bad one actually, and I don't really know if she and I are together anymore." Beca explained while Warren began preparing tea for them.

"Tell me all about it."

Beca relayed all that had happened between Chloe and then looked towards Warren for some sort of guidance for what she should do. Seeing him shake his head at her Beca began thinking that Warren wasn't going to side with her on this argument. The details of their troubled passed had been something Beca and Warren had silently agreed to not talk about. A sort of forgive and forget kind of deal. But Beca was guessing that this time they were going to talk about it.

"So you ran?" Warren asked disappointed.

"I didn't mean to run. I just couldn't be there having the same argument with her and knowing that we wouldn't get anywhere with it." Beca said defensively.

"Beca you know that I made mistakes in the past when it comes to you and your mother. I shouldn't have just walked out without talking to you and explaining what had happened. I should have made more of an effort to spend time with you. But I'd hoped you'd learned from my mistakes." The judgment in Warren's tone sent Beca's defenses back up at full strength. She didn't come here to be judged by him, she was nothing like him.

The thought stalled her, hitting her like a sucker punch to the gut and she nearly doubled over at the thought. _She was nothing like him._ It had been her mantra for most of her adult life. And now, now she was _exactly_ like him. She'd run out on the woman that she loved because things got hard. She'd just left instead of working out their problems. Beca choked on her breath when she tried to wrap her mind around that fact.

"Bec?" Warren asked seeing the ashen shade of his daughter's skin and knowing that the reality of what happened was finally striking her. He'd had that moment too, only he'd been too afraid to return to his family and own up to the mistakes that he had made. He could only hope that Beca wasn't as much of a coward as he had been.

"What do I do?" Beca asked breathlessly.

"Do you love her?"

"Yes, of course I do."

"Can you imagine you're life without her?"

"I don't want to." Beca whispered.

"What is it about marriage that scares you so much?" Warren asked suspecting that he knew the answer but he wanted her to hear it. Wanted her to know that it wasn't that she was afraid of marrying Chloe, it was that she was afraid of repeating her father's mistakes. Beca couldn't see past her own experiences to see how great marriage was. Warren had hoped that with as much time as Beca spent with Chloe's parents she would see that not all marriage was bad. In fact there were some couples out there that lived their entire lives with the people that they married.

"I'm afraid that it'll ruin what we have."

"It'll only ruin it if you let it. It doesn't matter to you, but it means the world to Chloe. To you it's a paper, a ceremony, and a ring. But to Chloe it's what she's dreamt about since she was a little girl. The way you always knew you'd be a big musical person. That was your dream. Hers was getting married and having a fairytale wedding. Do you love her enough to give her that?"

"I'd give her anything." Beca said firmly needing to believe it herself as much as she needed her father to believe it.

"Then go, go back to her and tell her that. Tell her how you feel, tell her you're terrified if that's what you need to do. But if you can't imagine losing her, if your life would be utterly incomplete without her in it then you need to do everything you can to make sure that you never have to live without her." Warren encouraged. Seeing some of the life return to Beca as she nodded her agreement with him.

"Thanks dad."

"Go get her kiddo."

Aubrey was worried, beyond worried if that was even possible. When she'd returned to the apartment she saw Chloe sitting on the couch with her knees drawn up to her chest. And she was just staring across the wall. Having expected Beca and Chloe to still be in bed Aubrey was surprised that Beca wasn't even home at all. And then Chloe had started to explain. She told Aubrey about the fight, about how Beca had left and she wasn't even sure if they were still together or not. Aubrey was stunned, she sat next to Chloe expecting the sobbing to start. Chloe had always been an emotional person, she'd cry for a stranger she'd never spoken to before if they were suffering as badly as she was in that moment. But she didn't, in the hours that they had been sitting on the couch in silence Chloe had not cried once. Aubrey was worried Chloe might be in shock or something.

Her first instinct had been to call Beca, demand that Beca come home and fix what she'd done but Chloe told her not to. Neither of them could make Beca come back and talk it out, Beca needed to come back on her own otherwise there wouldn't be a point to it. In truth Chloe wasn't sure if she wanted Beca to come back. Of course she wanted them to work things out and she wanted things to get fixed, but if things were to go the opposite way. If Beca had decided that it wasn't worth the trouble anymore, wasn't worth enduring the same argument over and over again. Chloe didn't want to hear Beca say the words.

Both women jumped when the suffocating silence that had filled the apartment was shattered by a soft, tentative knocking on the door. Looking at one another Aubrey slowly stood, this was not the time for visitors and Aubrey was fully prepared to send whoever it was packing. But when she opened the door and saw Beca standing there looking like a kicked puppy with her head bowed and her makeup running from the tears that had poured down her face. Aubrey wanted to tell Beca to get the Hell out, that she wasn't welcome there right then but the words died on her lips and she just stepped aside allowing Beca walk in slowly.

It took several long moments for Chloe to realize that there was someone else in the apartment other than her and Aubrey. When she looked up from the point on the wall she'd been staring out almost nonstop since Beca had walked out and she saw Beca she didn't say anything at first. Neither of them did because neither of them knew what to say. And then Beca slowly started to move backward, at first Chloe thought Beca was going to leave again. It was that fear that made Chloe move, standing quickly and ready to stop Beca if she needed to. But then she saw Beca heading down the hallway and into their bedroom.

A few minutes later Beca re-emerged standing at the entrance of the living room. Aubrey looked between them and contemplated leaving but instead she looked on. Her gaze moved between the two of them until she saw that Beca was holding something, she recognized it as one of Chloe's date books. One of the old ones from how beat up it looked. Chloe had a weird habit of keeping all of her date books. She had boxes of them, she would always say that some people kept scrap books she kept her memories in her date books. Wordlessly Beca walked forward until she stood in front of Chloe and held the book out.

"What-?" Chloe started before grabbing the book and taking note of the year that was printed on the front of the book. 2012. It was the year that they had won the ICCA's.

"Open it." Beca requested.

"To what?" Chloe inquired.

"To the day that you barged into my shower." Beca said, she knew Chloe remembered the date. Even though they both knew that they had first met at the activities fair they would say they first truly met. Chloe did what she was told and flipped through the pages until finally the book opened to that date. An audible gasp rang out into the apartment and Chloe almost dropped the date book when she saw what was tied inside on the date.

With trembling hands Chloe took it out and held the ring between her forefinger and her thumb staring at it like she couldn't believe it was real. It was elegant, but simple in design with the diamond being a princess cut bookended by matching smaller diamonds.

"Marry me Chloe." It wasn't clear to anyone if Beca was asking or if she was ordering but it didn't really matter.

"You said you didn't want to get married."

"To Hell with what I said. Marry me." This time it was more clearly a command. Chloe was filled with a mixture of emotions that was not altogether unpleasant but definitely not comfortable as she looked between the ring and Beca. Obviously Beca had had the ring for a while for her to have it already in the apartment. Chloe wanted to be happy, Beca was proposing. Her heart was screaming with joy at the prospect of it. But her brain reigned her heart in with a list of questions what needed to be answered. Still, Chloe slid the ring on her ring finger and felt the coolness of the metal against her skin and the way that it fit just perfectly.

"Yes. I'll marry you." Chloe said first though the hesitation in Chloe's tone kept Beca rooted to where she was.

"But?"

"But I need to think. And I can't do that around you." Chloe said walking past Beca to their bedroom and slamming the door behind her.

Beca turned to Aubrey as if remembering suddenly that the blonde was in the room still and she silently asked for advice on what she should do.

"Stay. Stay until she's ready to talk."

Beca had fallen asleep on the couch, with the emotional ringer that she'd been through in the past 24 hours she was exhausted and didn't even realize it. She'd intended to stay awake and wait for Chloe to be ready to talk like Aubrey had told her but the minute she laid her head down she drifted off the sleep. Not to say that her sleep was particularly restful. In fact she tossed and turned a lot of the night. She didn't wake up until she felt someone gently touch her shoulder. Chloe stood over her looking down with an unreadable expression.

"Hey." Beca said sitting up.

"Come to bed." Chloe answered turning and walking towards their bedroom. Beca knew better than to ask questions and silently followed Chloe back into their bedroom. From the looks of their bed Chloe hadn't been sleeping peacefully either.

"Can we talk?" Beca asked tentatively.

"What did you mean when you said that you needed me to leave? It's been haunting me since you said it because you looked so terrified when the words left your mouth." Chloe started, launching right into the conversation without giving either of them time to rethink it.

"I didn't know at the time what I meant. I was just…you know, instinct. You said something and without thinking I said something back. But I think I know now what I meant. When you broke up with me before I was so angry with you, I was angry and I was hurt because you had promised that you never would. But the longer that we spent apart, and I learned how to be on my own again I realized that it was actually a good thing that we weren't together and I went to LA."

"It was a good thing that we weren't together?" Chloe asked incredulously.

"No, no that part pretty much sucked. But it needed to happen because I didn't realize how much I needed you, how much I loved you until I wasn't with you anymore. When I swear I heard your laugh in every crowd, I wanted to follow every redhead just in case she was you, when I realized that I didn't want to be without you. You took down all my walls when we were together, you taught me how to open up to the world and actually let people in. I needed to grow a little bit in order to be the person that I needed to be for you. I bought that, the ring, a month after I moved to LA. And I knew, that if I had a second chance I'd work my way up to it. Somehow I would." Beca explained, she hated how exposed she felt standing in the center of her bedroom looking at Chloe and begging her silently for forgiveness.

"You've had this for that long?"

"Yeah."

"What about not wanting to get married?" Chloe challenged.

"You know me Chloe, better than anyone else. You know that I'm stubborn, and I'm a pain in the ass. I don't like to change, I like to stay in my little sarcastic bubble because then I know that I won't get hurt. But I didn't realize how much I was hurting you by being like that. I didn't recognize what you were giving up just to be with me and help me live my dream. I went over to my dad's tonight convinced that we were over, that I'd finally screwed up so badly that you wouldn't take me back. And when I told him what we fought about he asked me if I loved you enough to put myself on the line and do the one thing I'd sworn to myself I'd never do. I can't live without you Chloe. And I can't stand the thought that I'm the reason you aren't happy. That you aren't getting your dream." Beca's voice trembled, looking at Chloe even though her vision was blurring from the tears. Chloe watched awestruck as Beca fell to her knees before her tears falling from eyes, her lips trembling with all the emotion that Beca had shut herself off from.

"Beca I was never unhappy being with you." Chloe insisted though her tone lacked the certainty she'd hoped it convey.

"Just tell me that we're going to be okay. Please." Beca never imagined that she would see herself begging. She wasn't someone that normally would beg, her pride wouldn't allow it. But here she was, on her knees in front of the woman that she loved begging. Chloe crossed the small distance between them and gently placed her hand on Beca's hair, running her fingers gently through its length.

"We're going to be okay Beca."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – Past

" _We're going to be okay Beca_."

Those were the words that Beca took with her when she was forced to go and finish her tour. She'd been hesitant to return to it at first, convinced that her relationship with Chloe was on shaky ground and knowing that she needed to stay. Chloe had told Beca in no uncertain terms that everything was fine and that Beca needed to fulfill the promise she made to her fans and perform for them. Beca had agreed but then again Chloe was asking her to agree with something while being naked. The DJ was sure that was against some sort of rule, using feminine wiles to get her to agree to something.

The remaining months had never felt so long for Beca, though there seemed to be an added spark with Chloe after the proposal. Not that they had ever lost their spark, Aubrey had commented that they were a couple who would never fall out of their honeymoon phase. But there was an added newness to everything, every text message made Beca giddy (though she'd deny it to the end), phone calls were rarely missed and lasted for hours. It was like falling in love all over again.

"So what kind of wedding are you planning?" Barbara asked setting down several glasses of iced tea on the table between Chloe and Victor. Chloe had waited all of an hour after waking up the morning after the proposal and telling her parents what had happened. Barbara had squealed in delight and Victor had nodded his head in his own way of approval.

"I don't really know. Beca would hate something big and lavish but she and I can talk about it when she gets back. We're in no rush." Chloe answered still beaming and looking down at the ring every few minutes just to make sure it was still there.

"I thought you wanted a big fairytale wedding. Surely Beca can afford to give you one." Barbara said, though her tone could have been taken as harsh Chloe knew that it wasn't meant to be. Barbara had all but adopted Beca into the family as a daughter to her, she held the same pride a mother would at the success Beca had been having.

"She can, but I'm just glad to be marrying her mom. I don't care if we do it in front of a Justice of the Peace. I just want to be able to call Beca my wife." Chloe said. She didn't lie when she told Beca that she didn't need the wedding. Though she wanted the white dress and the veil and the huge wedding party and reception with all of her friends and family, those were things she still wanted. But Chloe wasn't going to push her luck on this one.

"You will not be getting married in front of the Justice of the Peace young lady." Barbara scolded. The thought was preposterous; Chloe was going to have the wedding she'd always dreamed of because Barbara had been dreaming about it too.

"You know what I mean mom. You know Beca, can you really imagine her in front of hundreds of people getting married?"

"Honey, she is a performer. Standing in front of hundreds of people is what she does." Barbara insisted. Chloe brought her iced tea to her lips and knew that there was no arguing with her mother at this point. Barbara had made up her mind and that meant there was no possibility of talking her out of it.

"She's right you know." Chloe rolled her eyes, looking away from her computer monitor and Beca's face. Beca was getting ready for what would be her last performance before the tour ended. But when Chloe had texted relaying the information of her conversation with Barbara Beca had insisted that she call Chloe.

"Leave it to you, we aren't even married yet and you're agreeing with my mother over me." Chloe whined.

"I thought you would be happy that I was agreeing with your mother."

"Not when I'm trying to argue for your side. I thought you didn't want a big wedding."

"Oh no, that right there is a trap. No matter how I answer that question I either get in trouble with you or with your mom. So I'm going to plead the fifth and tell you that I am relinquishing the planning of this wedding into your very capable hands."

"You are such a coward." Chloe tossed back affectionately.

"Only when it comes to you and your mother babe."

"Have a good show."

"I'll see you when I get home tomorrow night we'll talk more about this okay."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

It had never felt so good to walk off of a plane. True, the record label had her traveling in the highest luxury but nothing compared to the elation of knowing that Chloe was waiting for her on the other side of security. She shifted the strap of her lap top bag higher on her shoulder and adjusting her hood in hopes that she could make it through the terminal with as little recognition as possible Beca started walking. Luckily New York Airports were used to high profile people coming through, photographers camped out but they weren't intrusive Beca just had to make sure she didn't do anything embarrassing Beca would be fine with any picture they snapped.

After what seemed to be a hundred miles of terminal and corridors Beca saw a flash of brilliant red hair and her pace quickened. Chloe hadn't really changed much since she became camera fodder after her relationship with Beca became public, not when it came to what she wore in public anyway. There were other people that would take the chance to become fashion icons or something else utterly ridiculous. But Chloe stood looking utterly breathtaking in a pair of faded jeans, the kind that were properly broken in and knew exactly how to hug Chloe's frame. And being Chloe she wore a bright yellow shirt that complemented her hair in an oddly adorable way, her sunglasses perched on top of her head.

Wordlessly Beca threw her arms around Chloe's neck taking the taller girl slightly by surprise. Chloe knew that Beca was trying to be more affectionate and open when it came to her feelings but she wasn't expecting such a public display of affection. In the back of her mind she registered the sounds of cameras clicking but she ignored them. This moment was theirs. So what if the picture ended up in the magazines later, in that moment they were the only ones standing in the airport.

Pulling Chloe's scent into her nose Beca nestled into Chloe's neck allowing her senses to be taken over by all things Chloe. Feeling the heat of Chloe's body through the fabric of her shirt, and hearing the soft laughter that fell from Chloe's lips when Beca still clung to Chloe even though it was passed what would be considered an appropriate length of time for a public hug.

"I missed you." Beca said finally releasing Chloe from her hug and taking only a fraction of a step backward.

"I missed you too. Come on, let's get you home. Our friends are insisting on a welcome home party." Chloe said leading Beca out the automatic doors.

"What? Why?" Beca demanded incredulously.

"Because they love you and believe it or not they missed you too."

"All I want to do is go home and spend an ungodly amount of time alone with you, in bed…NAKED." Beca said as they god in the car that was waiting for them.

"Is that all you ever think about?" Chloe laughed, swatting Beca playfully on the shoulder. She couldn't complain really, she loved that in all the years they had been together Beca still wanted her. Still looked at her as if it were the first time.

"Hey, you okay? You're face got all serious. You know I was kidding right? Well, mostly kidding because I did want to spend a lot of quality naked time together. But time together with friends is cool too." Beca quickly rambled thinking that she had somehow managed to piss Chloe off, which given that they had only been together for 20 minutes was impressive.

It surprised Beca when Chloe lunged at Beca crushing their lips together, falling against the back of the seat from the force Beca's hands instinctively went to Chloe's sides to steady the redhead who thought it was a smart idea to try and straddle her while the car was moving. Lips parted simultaneously and teeth clashed, tongues danced and dueled until both of them knew they should pull away just to take a breath but neither could bring themselves to. It took the burning in her lungs and starting to get dizzy for Beca to tear her lips away from Chloe and throw her head back on the head rest.

"Jesus, what did I say?" Beca panted hand coming to the back of Chloe's head to keep Chloe's lips where they were attacking her neck. Feeling Chloe laugh against her neck Beca made Chloe look up at her.

"You didn't say anything. I just love that you still want me." It took Beca a minute to really think about what Chloe had said, mostly because her brain had gone straight to more carnal ideas. Sometimes Beca forgot that Chloe had a more self-conscious side, it didn't appear very often but on occasion it did pop up.

"How could I not? Seriously babe, I think you need to look in the mirror if you've forgotten how beautiful you are. But it's not just that. I want you because you are the kindest, most caring and loving person I've ever met. Who can put up with my shit when most people would have run for the hills." Beca wasn't usually one for big emotional confessions so the fact that she was making one meant a lot to Chloe.

"I love you."

"You know she's right." Both girls jumped in surprise at the sudden intrusion into what they had both thought was a private moment. Until they remembered that they were still in the back of the car which was now parked in front of their apartment building.

"Dude, I totally forgot you were there. Sorry." Beca said without any real remorse at all. Chloe moved to get off of Beca and opened the door.

"It happens. Have a good one ladies."

Beca followed Chloe up to their apartment their fingers linked loosely while they walked, neither of them said another during their brief trip. Beca's face was still bright red from being caught making out in the back of the car.

Pushing the door open Beca looked around the apartment for their third roommate. It would be weird adjusting back to living with people again. Sure on tour Beca was surrounded by people but it was somehow different because they were Chloe and Aubrey. The apartment hadn't changed since she'd been gone, Beca hadn't really had a chance to look the last time she was in town.

"Aubrey's at school." Chloe answered before Beca had a chance to ask, the coffee table in the living room was littered with work Chloe had brought home.

"So does that mean that I get to have my way with you?" Beca asked casually.

"Yes and no." Chloe answered seeing the confusion cross Beca's face.

"I'm pretty sure that wasn't a multiple choice question." Beca insisted.

"Yes you can, but not right now because we have to go over to my parents' house. They are the ones hosting your welcome back party." Chloe explained. Beca groaned, the idea of spending time with her future in-laws wasn't an unpleasant one. But she had hoped that she would be able to spend quality time with Chloe. "Don't look like I just killed your puppy."

"When are we due to go over there?"

"A few hours."

"A few hours, I can work with that." Beca replied a devious glint in her eyes and Chloe knew she should just give in. There was no way that she was going to resist Beca, not for long anyway when Beca had said such sweet things to her before.

"Beca, we cannot be late." Chloe said letting Beca lead her to the bedroom.

"And we won't be."

* * *

 

"I don't think I can move." Chloe panted staring up at the ceiling with unfocused eyes, she could feel Beca placing lingering open mouthed kisses along her stomach slowly working her way upward. Glancing up at Chloe, Beca chuckled. It had been a while but Beca was sure that this was at the top of the list of most memorable times they'd had sex.

"But you said that we couldn't be late." Beca teased, the clock said that they still had two hours to get to Chloe's parents' house which meant that they had plenty of time to get ready.

"So you planned to kill me with pleasure?" Chloe asked pitifully.

"No that was just fun." Beca replied snipping at Chloe's shoulder before letting her hand begin slowly moving down Chloe's torso before Chloe caught it.

"Nah uh, I swear one more time and I might actually die." Chloe said turning into Beca pressing their foreheads together.

"Aw poor baby."

They allowed the silence and the calm of the moment fill the air around them. Allowed them the moment to simply reflect and think about thoughts they weren't ready to share yet. Beca's fingertips traced over the contours of Chloe's hip, but instead of it being with the intention of arousing her fiancé it was merely comforting. She was there now, and had no intention of leaving any time soon. They were going to begin their lives together, all the drama and all of the pain and heartache that had littered their past was gone now.

"We have to get up or we're going to be late." Beca said glancing at the clock once more and marveling at how quickly forty five minutes could be eaten away by musing.

"Before we go, I just need to ask you one question." Chloe said following Beca's lead by sitting up and getting out of bed.

"What's that?"

"Do you want a big wedding?" Beca watched Chloe for a while, contemplating her answer and wondering how she wanted to answer. She hadn't ever thought that she would get married; now she was getting married to the woman that she loved. Now she had to deal with how.

"I don't really care." Beca saw Chloe's face fall in disappointment and quickly continued. "It's not because I don't want the day to be special because I do. But I want to give you everything you've ever wanted, every detail you dreamt about when you were a little girl. If you want a fairy tale wedding then I'll give you a fairytale wedding. Because I love you, and seeing you happy on that day is really all that I need."

"Since when did you turn into such a sap?" Chloe asked clearing her throat to try and hide how Beca's words touched her.

"I realized I don't tell you enough how much you mean to me. And I'm going to change that, because you Chloe Beale are an amazing woman. And you need to hear it more." Pressing her lips to Chloe's in the briefest of kisses Beca slipped past Chloe into the bathroom and Chloe heard the water start.

People were already gathering in the back yard when Chloe and Beca arrived at Chloe's parents place. A lot of them weren't people that Beca recognized but she'd come to expect that. People liked to come to parties regardless of what the reason for them was. Most of the guests in attendance Beca assumed would be people that Chloe worked with, people trying to get in good with the boss by showing up and bumping shoulders with the corporate execs. Beca spotted Barbara immediately, Chloe's mother was deep in conversation with a group of women, each hanging on every word that she spoke. But as soon as Barbara saw her daughter and future daughter in law she excused herself and made a bee line for them. Beca was sure that Barbara would have run people over if they didn't have the sense to move out of the way.

"Beca honey welcome home!" Barbara exclaimed throwing her arms around Beca's neck and pulling Beca towards her in an almost painfully tight hug.

"Hey Barbara." Beca greeted hugging the older woman back, throwing an exaggerated rolling of her eyes to Chloe.

"Gee nice to see you to mom."

"Oh Chloe you know I love you but I saw you yesterday. And I haven't seen Beca in months. Come on tell me everything." Barbara insisted pulling Beca towards the bar where drinks were already being laid out for them.

As the night went on and people continued to pour in, finally Chloe saw that some of the Bella's had arrived. First it was Aubrey, punctual as always followed by Cynthia Rose and Lily. Fat Amy was the last to arrive claiming that her most recent boyfriend had been reluctant to allow her to leave the bed. Still none of them knew if she was serious or not when she said things like that. Each time Beca tried to make her way back to Chloe she was stopped by someone who wanted to know what her plans were now that the tour was over, or they were huge fans and wanted to be able to tell their friends or spouses that they met Beca Mitchell.

"Are you going to go rescue her?" Aubrey asked glancing at Beca, the brunette looked terrible bored but was trying desperately not to let it show. Someone was talking her ear off about something or other and while normally Aubrey would find a situation like this amusing even she was beginning to take pity on Beca.

"Nope." Chloe replied simply sipping her champagne and looking over at Beca. Their eyes met briefly and Beca sent Chloe the same pitiful look she'd been sending Aubrey.

"Damn, what did she do to piss you off?" Aubrey laughed.

"Nothing. I just know that if she intends to be my trophy wife she needs to be able to play nice with the other corporate execs."

"Trophy wife huh?" Somehow Aubrey wasn't entirely sure that would ever be a term she would associate with Beca. Beca was to alternative for such a title. Chloe merely shrugged and started walking towards Beca and Aubrey watched Chloe effortlessly wrap her arm around Beca's waist and join into the conversation.

After a few more hours of mingling with everyone, some people twice Beca retreated towards her own secluded corner where she could breathe for a bit. Sitting on the edge of one of the chairs Beca watched as Cynthia Rose walked over to her, the other Bella giving Beca a nod before taking a seat next to her. For a while they didn't say anything, they just watched as the many different party goers moved around each other. Both stared in horror as Fat Amy "danced" and then turned away when Barbara went over to stop the blonde Aussie.

"So, finally popped the question huh?" Cynthia Rose finally asked. She wasn't surprised really, knowing how much Beca loved Chloe it was only a matter of time until Beca gave in.

"It was that or I'd lose her." Beca answered. She and Cynthia Rose had always gravitated towards each other during the Bella's. They were of course all friends and Cynthia Rose loved Chloe but it was pretty clear that it was with Beca that she bonded the most.

"Smart choice."

"I think so."

Things after Beca's return fell into a sort of routine that worked for each of them but wasn't without its own times. Aubrey moved out of the apartment within a few months, she didn't move far really. In fact now there was a floor separating them instead. Aubrey had claimed that when the unit on the floor above them opened up she couldn't give away the prized location, though Chloe suspected it was because for all her independence Aubrey wasn't ready to be out on her own yet. Beca knew that Chloe appreciated having her best friend that close so that they could spend all their free time planning the wedding.

Honestly, Beca had thought that all of those reality TV shows and horror stories of Bridezilla's were all exaggerated. Not that Chloe had turned into a Bridezilla, but she was pretty damn close while still being lovable. Aubrey, Chloe, and Barbara had turned into a well-oiled wedding planning machine. Barbara kept insisting that Chloe hire a wedding planner but there was no detail about the wedding that Chloe wanted to relinquish control over. She wanted to know all the details, all the flowers, she wanted to see and experience everything and no one had the heart to deprive her of that. So in the end Beca became very good at staying out of the way and making sure that at some point in the night she would leave her office and go to living room and force Chloe into going to bed.

So it was at the exact moment when everything seemed to be doing so well that things fell apart in a big way. Surely after all that she had been through with her past relationships with her family and even during her relationship with Chloe, Beca should have been wary of things when they were going to well. But she'd allowed her guard down and the hope that they were going to live happily ever after that she got a phone call from the Hospital informing them that Chloe had been brought into the emergency room.

Beca didn't think she even breathed during the transit from her apartment to the hospital, the nurse was still on the other end attempting to get her attention but Beca had stopped listening. She'd already shoved the phone in her pocket and was on her way out the door. She'd grab Aubrey on the way down because she knew she wasn't in the mind to think clearly and Aubrey was slightly better under stressful situations. Ironic given Aubrey's tendency to vomit when she was personally stressed. Still this was about Chloe and Aubrey was able to keep her head about things.

She didn't remember much of the taxi ride when they had left her apartment building, all she could focus on was the most ridiculous thought and that was to thank Aubrey for forcing her into doing all of those cardio lessons during the Bella's. Without them she wouldn't have been able to sprint the length of the parking lot to the nurse's desk of the ER without passing out.

"Chloe Beale where is she?" Beca demanded out of breath and sure she looked horrid. The nurse looked up at her, a mixture of practiced indifference and trained calm.

"Calm down ma'am, who is it that you are looking for?" The nurse asked.

"Chloe Beale. B-E-A-L-E, you guys called me and told me that she was here and that I should get here as soon as possible. Where is she?" Beca's voice lost all hints of friendliness, it was pure ice and threatening. If this lady did not tell her where Chloe was the amount of damage Beca was willing to do to her was frightening. It seemed to take forever for the nurse to look up the name in her computer. Long enough at least for Aubrey to be able to catch up with her.

"Alright, she was admitted about ten minutes ago and was taken to room 311. It's down that way…"But Beca was already off and running, she slammed into the wall next to the elevator, the palm of her hand hitting the button but after a fraction of a second Beca decided that the door was taking too long. She would take the stairs.

The details of the hospital walls blurred in her peripheral vision as she ran all that mattered was finding Chloe and seeing with her own eyes that her fiancé was okay. She nearly missed the room that the nurse had told her and instead came screeching to a halt. Her converse making that ear splitting sound that would normally make her want to flinch.

Opening the door Beca couldn't see Chloe at first, all she saw was Barbara and Victor huddled around the bed. Her panic and her fear of the situation turning briefly into rage when she thought that Chloe's parents had been called before her and neither of them called her. She had to hear it from the hospital. The slew of anger filled words that were just itching to be expelled from her lips were halted the moment Chloe saw her. The redhead pushed her parents aside and threw herself into Beca's arms nearly taking them both down to the ground.

And they just held each other, time didn't matter nothing mattered but that moment where they were allowed to feel each other. Where Beca could feel Chloe in her arms and know without a shadow of a doubt that she was alright, that she hadn't gone anywhere.

"Beca I'm so sorry. I didn't want it to happen but it did and he was pointing a gun at me and he was yelling at me and I was alone and didn't know what to do I thought he was going to shoot me." Chloe babbled, though most of what she said Beca couldn't decipher from the choked sobs.

"Shh it's okay." Beca looked over Chloe's shoulder at her parents trying to piece together what had happened. She still hadn't been told exactly what had happened and hearing the mention that someone had pointed a gun at Chloe was quickly starting to add panic back into Beca's blood stream.

"Chloe was out with some of her friends after work and she was mugged. The attacker didn't harm her in any physical way but they wanted to admit her just in case." Victor explained finally. "They called us because I'm friends with some of the board members." He threw in knowing that Beca would also be wondering that as well.

"Can I have a few minutes alone with her?" Beca asked still clinging to Chloe but since she was the one supporting most of Chloe's weight she wanted Chloe to sit down before she fell down. Ushering Chloe towards the hospital bed Beca made Chloe sit and then she stood in front of Chloe, sadly making them also level height.

"I'm so sorry Beca."

"Why are you apologizing to me? You didn't do anything wrong, some bastard did and if I ever find out who he is then I'll kill him. But babe, believe me you have _nothing_ to apologize for." Beca insisted making Chloe look at her, while still being gentle. She didn't know the extent of the mugging and didn't want to appear to be man handling Chloe and freak her out more.

"He took the ring Beca." Chloe whispered. Beca's eyes went to Chloe's hand and saw that Chloe' ring finger was bare. In some small parts Beca was beginning to understand why Chloe was so upset. She wasn't normally a materialistic person, for having all the money in the world and being able to buy anything she wanted Chloe kept a pretty simple lifestyle. She lived in the dorms at Barden when she could have easily afforded an off campus apartment. But when it came to her engagement ring Chloe was obsessed, she loved the ring probably more than anything else that she owned. She never took it off.

"Aw Chloe is that why you're so upset?" Beca asked gently.

"You probably hate me." Chloe whimpered.

"Hate you? How could I ever hate you Chloe what's going on in that beautiful head of yours? That if you lost the engagement ring I'd somehow stop loving you?" Beca didn't expect the silence that answered her question and her jaw dropped. Chloe was that afraid that Beca would be upset and leave. As if Beca's love for Chloe was tied to the ring.

"You didn't even want to get married and then I go and lose the ring you bought me." Beca stood speechless for a few minutes unsure of what she was going to say to calm Chloe down. She had to be really careful with her words but her fiancé was hurting and she knew only a few very carefully chosen words would fix it.

"Chloe I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Married, not married, it doesn't matter I just want to be with you. I love you more than I can even put into words, and yeah it scares the Hell out of me 95% of the time but I'm making my way through that. I will buy you a hundred engagement rings, of course we'll be homeless then, but if that's what it takes I'll do it. I love you so much Chloe and yeah that ring was special, but it's not the end of my love for you if someone took it from you. I would much rather have had you give him the ring then risk him hurting you. Because that is not something I could live with, I can't live without you Chloe."

They stayed like that for several long moments, Beca cradling Chloe's face in her hands her thumb brushing tears away as they fell.

"I love you." Chloe said finally sniffling softly.

"So, am I taking you to Tiffany's for those 100 rings?" Beca quipped seeing Chloe slowly break out into a smile and even a small laugh.

"Tempting as that is, I think just one will do."

"I can have them make another one Chloe, just like the one before. I still have the jeweler's card." Beca offered.

"Think they'll make it again?"

"Of course they will. I'm famous remember I'll pull some strings." Beca said with a grin.

" You'll always be that bad-ass alt girl that I had to accost in the showers to get her to join the Bella's."

"I think I can live with that. Can we get you out of here or are they going to keep you overnight?" Beca asked wanting to take Chloe home and dote over her. She didn't want to have to worry about some nurse coming in and telling her that she had to leave because visiting hours were over.

"I want to go home."

Aubrey met them when they walked in the door throwing her arms around Chloe. Beca had texted Aubrey letting her know that they were on their way so Aubrey had begun preparing all of Chloe's favorite comfort food items and queuing up her favorite movies. It was another thing that Beca could add to the list of things she and Aubrey had in common, they were both intensely protective of Chloe.

They didn't talk about what happened for a while, until they were well into the first movie. Chloe stayed nestled into Beca's side drawing comfort from just having Beca near her.

"I think I want to go to bed." Chloe said letting go of Beca and standing up. Beca followed Chloe to their bedroom but lingered by the door unsure exactly what she was supposed to do. For a few minutes Chloe wandered aimlessly around their bedroom. She knew that she was home and that she was safe with Beca but she still couldn't completely stop shaking.

"Tell me what you need." Beca requested helplessly.

"Will you just hold me tonight? Please."

"Sure, of course." Beca said shrugging off her hoody and making her way towards Chloe and wrapped her arms around the taller girl's waist.

Beca didn't even remember when they laid down but when she woke up she and Chloe were curled around each other and the sky was just beginning to lighten. Glancing at the clock she saw that it was just after five in the morning. Normally she would roll back over and go back to sleep but since she was seemingly pinned underneath Chloe because she was pinned in what was possibly the most comfortably uncomfortable position she'd ever been in Beca didn't want to move. Her neck was pinched, her arm was numb and her back was going to be killing her when she did actually move next. But Chloe was clinging to her like she was the only life preserver on the planet and she was on a sinking ship.

Running her fingers through Chloe's hair Beca stared up at the ceiling and thought about the last night. She'd only ever seen Chloe so vulnerable once and that was when Chloe had to go get her Nodes taken care of. And even then Chloe had never faltered; she had never shown that she was scared. Looking down at Chloe's calm face Beca thanked God that Chloe was alright.

* * *

 

"Let me get this straight, you and Beca have decided to combine your bachelorette parties? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the whole thing?" Aubrey asked when she had broached the subject of planning Chloe's bachelorette party and the redhead had told Aubrey what they were planning.

"It just didn't seem to make sense to have separate parties when we want the same people there. So we're going to combine them." Chloe explained rationally while flipping through several of R.S.V.P's she'd gotten.

"But it's supposed to be your last night to do something crazy before you're a married woman. How can you completely cut loose when Beca's right there?" Aubrey demanded. It surprised Chloe how adamant Aubrey was that she had this chance for freedom. As if she was going to need it. Even if she had a chance she wasn't going to betray Beca in any way.

"Come on Aubrey it won't be too bad. Plus we're going to Vegas there is a very good chance that Beca and I will be separated for a good chunk of the night." Chloe offered.

"Alright fine, have it your way."

After the public announcement that Beca was getting married there was a competition for which club could host the engagement party, which club could host the bachelorette party, and the venues there was no shortage of places that wanted to have them getting married there. It all seemed to fall into place in a semi chaotic way. Chloe was still at the helm of planning everything and most of the time Beca just let Chloe go and do her thing and was there when Chloe wanted her opinion on things.

"When is Beca getting back from LA?" Aubrey asked packing the last of her things in her suitcase, each outfit perfectly folded and coordinated.

"She's meeting us in Vegas when she's done with her current artist." Beca had been pretty secretive about who it was she was working with, claiming that it was some sort of record deal confidentiality thing.

Beca watched Las Vegas appear out of the clouds as her plane began its descent, her most recent mix blasting through her headphones. A sense of calm over her even if it was barely masking the dread that came from knowing that in less than eight hours she would be thrust into night clubs and drinking, loud music that was meant to flatter her. Something about it seemed so out of her comfort zone but it meant so much to Chloe that they both go through this. So she did, so she agreed to go through this whole thing because it mattered to Chloe.

"Hey." Feeling someone tap her knee Beca pulled her headphones office and looked at the seat next to her. Jesse sat down next to her silent for a minute but it was clear that there was something that he wanted to say.

"Well out with it." Beca said finally.

"It's nothing. I just think that this whole thing is surreal. You're getting married in less than a two weeks." Jesse said bouncing in his seat.

"And we are on our way to the biggest party in the history of parties." Beca had been promised that it would definitely be a night to remember. Most of the artists that she had asked to make an appearance had agreed.

"Did you ever think that you would be here? When we were freshmen at Barden? Did you ever think that all your dreams would come true?" Jesse asked, he wasn't usually one for deep questions like this but he felt oddly inspired.

"I kinda thought I was meant to spend the rest of my day's miserable and hating the world." Beca answered; though her statement held notes of truth to them it was clear that she was being a little over dramatic.

"What changed?" Jesse asked.

"Chloe taught me to have faith."

"Huh."

"What?"

"Wasn't the answer I was expecting that's all."

"What answer were you expecting?"

"For you to just say Chloe."

"She had a big part of it. But it isn't just her, I see the world differently now. She taught me how to do that. Not saying that I could do it without her but at least I'm in a better place then I was." Beca offered with a shrug.

Beca wasn't ready for the sheer chaos that was expected to take place when her plane landed. Chloe and Aubrey had beat her there but only by an hour or so, having checked into the suite at the hotel. It was the one thing that Aubrey insisted upon was that they didn't share a room. Dumping their bags inside their room Beca pulled out her phone and texted Chloe letting them know that they had arrived.

The air inside the hotel held the artificial chill of the air conditioner but looking outside and from the briefest moments she'd spent outside Beca knew that the temperatures were at least in the low hundreds. Luckily for them the party would start later in the night when the temperatures were much more agreeable, and thankfully it was possible to go through an entire day without seeing the daylight. It was the partiers dream.

Hearing the sound of banging on the door Beca knew exactly who it was, only one person she knew knocked with such excitement. Opening the door Beca was very nearly tackled down to the ground by an excited red head.

"Hi." Beca managed to get out before Chloe tightened her arms to the point that Beca had trouble inhaling.

"Do I have enough time to have my way with you?" Chloe asked her voice carrying the desire she felt, the want that she had been forced to contain.

"Not unless you want Jesse to get a view you don't want." Beca warned turning Chloe so that she could see Jesse unpacking his bag. Jesse waved awkwardly having heard what Chloe said.

"Hey Chloe." Jesse greeted.

"Hi Jesse."

"I'm going to go explore the casino. She needs to be ready by 8 Chloe." Jesse said walking past them giving them both knowing looks.

"Don't worry, she will be." Chloe said watching the door close before her hands began to explore Beca's body.

"Chloe, we can't. We need to get ready to go greet the people coming into town. The Bella's are going to be here soon." Trying to get Chloe's hands to stop roaming her body, it would be so easy to allow it to happen. It had been over a week since they had seen each other.

"We can be quick." Chloe insisted pushing Beca back against the wall, her lips finding Beca's neck.

"I don't want to be quick." Beca's resistance was gone; there was no point of even fighting it.

"We'll be quick now, and then later we can take our time."

"If they have their way you and I will be too drunk to be able to have sex later." Feeling Chloe's fingers working on the buttons of her shirt until the material hung loose around her revealing her tank top Beca hooked her leg around Chloe's and reversed their position.

"Get me out of these clothes." Chloe pleaded.

"If you get naked you aren't going to leave this room until you have been properly sexed. While I am a fan of that idea I think your maid of honor will kill me." Beca replied sliding her hand inside Chloe's jeans and being rewarded by a gasp of surprise and also pleasure. Chloe's hands fell from Beca and went to the wall to help keep her upright as pleasure erupted throughout her entire body. "I missed you." Beca whispered hotly against Chloe's ear.

"Beca…"Chloe whimpered as Beca seemed to keep her caresses purposefully faint to keep Chloe on the brink of insanity. Her suspicions were confirmed when she felt Beca smile against her skin. But still her point was made and Beca quickened her movements until Chloe was rocking her hips in time with Beca's fingers. It wasn't long after that Beca had Chloe on the brink, she could tell by the sounds and the frantic movements of Chloe's body that it wouldn't take much.

Afterward the two of them stayed where they were, pressed against the entry wall of the hotel suite Chloe's arms circling around Beca's neck while she fought to regain her breath. There was something so hot about Beca taking her against the wall. Something so carnal about it, just the thought of it was enough to send a fresh rush of arousal through Chloe.

Beca moved away from Chloe once she was sure that Chloe would be able to stand on her own, she looked at the clock, and they had all planned to meet at the casino bar when they arrived. They were already late for that, and from the sound of it Beca and Chloe both had missed several phone calls and text messages.

"We need to go down and meet them." Beca said trying to ignore the heat that was coming from between her legs.

"They can wait." Chloe offered.

"Not according to Aubrey, and I quote "if you guys are down here in five minutes we're coming up to get you"." Beca said showing the text to Chloe for evidence.

"But I can't just let you go unsatisfied."

"You can make it up to me later. Go down there, I'll meet you. I just…need a minute." Beca had never been so grateful that she wasn't a guy and her arousal wasn't as obvious.

When Beca did compose herself and make her way down to the casino bar she heard rather than saw the group of women that had made up her family while she was at school. But it was Fat Amy that she saw before anyone else, mainly because she was trying to get up onto the bar and dance and the other girls were trying to stop her. It was the middle of the day there was no way that the Aussie could be that smashed already.

"It's always an adventure with you guys isn't it?" Beca asked when they finally got Amy to sit down at one of the tables. Greetings and hugs were exchanged between the girls as they began the long process of reconnecting. Most of them hadn't seen each other since the end of their respective Bella's careers, but they'd kept in touch whenever they could.

With the festivities planned to begin shortly after eight, each of them retired to their rooms to begin to get ready. When Beca got to her room she wasn't all that surprised to find that there was a small army of people waiting to help her get ready. This was as much of a publicity event for her as it was a celebration, and there was no way that Luce was going to let her go out if she wasn't properly primped and prepared to look stylish for all of the cameras that they knew would be waiting.

"You would think that I hadn't known how to dress myself for the past twenty something years of my life." Beca grumbled as she looked through the different outfits that she had been presented with.

"You didn't. I saw what you wore during your freshmen year at Barden. If that was any indication you really couldn't dress yourself." Luce commented holding another shirt in front of Beca.

"Are you guys doing the same thing to Chloe?" Beca asked sitting down and letting them do what they needed to do. It was like with Chloe, it was pointless to resist for long.

"She was sent up a bunch of dresses. But most of these people are going to be looking at you."

"Because their stupid."

"Because you're the celebrity."

"Right, I keep forgetting that."

"I don't want you to go anywhere without Theo tonight okay. I know that you don't like having him follow you around I just want to make sure that you're safe tonight okay?" Beca wanted to say something cheeky about it but then she saw the seriousness on Lucy's face.

"Okay."

The night was crazy, in all the best ways and in all the craziest ways. They all drank and they danced and they had the time of their lives. It was weird for Beca to be on the dance floor instead of up in the DJ booth but she wouldn't trade it for the world. Just the sheer amount of fun and hilarity that occurred that night could never be replicated. People would argue that it was missing the strippers and all of the stereotypical things that bachelorette parties needed.

Beca was feeling the buzz, her most recent shot still making her tongue tingle and burning down her throat watching as Chloe danced at the center of what could be described as a Bella's cluster in the center of the dance floor. She'd decided to sit this one out. Her gaze followed Chloe as it usually did; everything about Chloe was just intoxicating. Leaning against the railing and feeling the cool metal against her heated skin Beca watched as Chloe danced perfectly to the rhythm of whatever song was playing looking absolutely breathtaking.

"You look like a fool in love." Beca heard someone say to her, though it was more of a shout since the music was just that loud. Turning to see who was talking to her Beca didn't recognize who it was, some club patron.

"I am." Beca replied nodding towards Chloe and seeing this stranger follow her gaze to Chloe.

"I don't blame you. She's beautiful."

"I'm Beca."

"I know who you are. You're kinda hard to miss. I'm Violet by the way." Beca often wondered what was the point of introducing herself to people anymore when most of them knew who she was before she had the chance.

"Right. Nice to meet you Violet."

"I'm staying upstairs. Room 411." Beca looked over at the stranger, for a moment confused and then realization dawning on her, what was being offered to her.

"Look, I'm quite happy with my fiancé over there." Beca insisted putting some space between her and Violet. Sure the girl was attractive but nowhere near Chloe.

"Well if you change your mind you know where I'll be."

Beca watched the girl go, so lost in the absurdity of what had just happened that she hadn't seen Chloe sneak behind her. She did however feel Chloe's arms slide around her waist. Turning so that she could face Chloe she saw alcohol induced smile that Chloe always got.

"Dance with me!" Chloe pouted.

"I've been dancing with you." Beca said dragging her feet against Chloe pulling her back to the dance floor.

"Please." And just like that Beca is gone. Following Chloe out to the dance floor and getting lost in the sea of people. The only thing that she was sure of was the hand that was currently gripping hers so that they didn't get separated. Watching Chloe turn around and continue to pull Beca to her their bodies came flush up against one another and the rhythm of the song took over. Despite the fast pace of the song the two of them swayed slowly, the actual beat of the song didn't matter.

"I know that woman was flirting with you." Chloe whispered against Beca's ear, her lips then ghosting over the shell of Beca's ear making Beca shudder.

"She tried; I wasn't really paying attention to her." Beca replied her finger tips finding the skin of Chloe's back.

"I noticed that too." Chloe had caught sight of the girl walking over to Beca and had fought her instinct to go over to them. Not because she didn't trust Beca, she did. But because she wanted that girl to know that Beca was not available. But she hadn't gotten the chance, not with how fast Beca had dismissed the poor girl.

"You know you're it for me Chloe. Don't ever doubt that."

"Never do." Time seemed to escape them as they disappeared into their own world where nothing else mattered, there was no one else but the two of them. Beca even stopped hearing the music she was focusing so intently on Chloe.

Neither one of them noticed that it was happening, the intensity of the moment they were sharing snuck up on them. They only realized it when Chloe took in a deep breath because she had somehow forgotten to breathe.

"Let's go upstairs." Beca suggested.

"We'll be missed." Chloe protested weakly.

"Our bachelorette party, we can leave whenever we want to."

The two snuck out of the club and made it upstairs thankfully without anyone stopping them, if they were lucky they wouldn't be noticed missing until the next morning. The door closed behind Beca as she followed Chloe into the suite, Chloe had kicked off her heals and was in the process of removing the jewelry before disappearing into their bedroom. Chloe had looked breathtaking, she'd chosen a blue dress and Beca always had a weakness when Chloe wore blue.

"Are you coming?" Chloe called from the bedroom. Beca pushed herself off the door and walked towards the bedroom but stopped in her tracks when she turned into the bedroom. Standing next to the bed was Chloe clad only in the sexiest lingerie Beca had ever seen. Feeling her mouth go dry and her brain start to short circuit Beca struggled to find something to say. But her silence seemed to speak volumes to Chloe though.

"You look…wow." Beca finally said forcing the words out of her lips.

"Let me make up to you the fact that I left you so unsatisfied earlier." Chloe said pushing Beca back onto the bed.

\- **The Wedding Day**

"How are you not more nervous?!" Jesse squeaked pacing the room looking as if he was about to faint if he didn't stop and take a breath. Beca looked up from her lap top with an arched eyebrow before returning to her computer. She was forbidden from putting her headphones on for fear that it would mess up the hair so the room was filled with the rough sounds of her unfinished mixes.

"Why would I be nervous?" Surprisingly Beca was calmer than she expected to be. She wondered why that was, the idea of standing in front of everyone that she knew and a lot of people that she didn't had terrified her not twelve hours before. But now that she was sitting there hours away from the actual event the only thing that she felt was excitement to see Chloe walk down the aisle towards her.

Chloe had vetoed the idea of Beca wearing a suit for their wedding so Beca had chosen a simple white dress. But otherwise everything about the day was traditional, except that they weren't getting married in a church. Instead they had booked a vineyard that had everything that Chloe had ever wanted, it had a view to die for, it had the space to accommodate the hundreds of people that were going to be attending this wedding, and it had the look Chloe had been looking for. It had taken a while for Beca to understand what it was that Chloe was looking for, but once she made Chloe sit down and tell her what it was she was looking for it they found it. Chloe wanted a fairytale wedding, the vineyard worked because it looked old school enough to look elegant enough that when you looked at it you thought perfect romance.

Looking out the window as the last of the preparations were underway Beca wondered where Chloe was. It had amused her at first that Barbara had insisted that Beca and Chloe respect the not spending the night before the wedding with your fiancé rule. It was one night, they had spent longer apart then that before, but this time it was different. On the eve of their wedding all Beca wanted to do was spend it with Chloe. She was convinced now that whoever had come up with that tradition had only wanted to make the two parties suffer.

Across the way Chloe wasn't fairing much better, unlike Beca, Chloe was a ball of nerves. It was so unlike her to be nervous about something that she had been so excited for and waiting for her entire life. But still, she was fidgeting and she couldn't stop pacing.

"Aubrey will you go check on Beca." Chloe requested looking at her best friend imploringly.

"Why?" Aubrey asked not being vindictive but out of general curiosity. She didn't understand why Chloe was freaking out so much.

"I just want to make sure she isn't having second thoughts." Chloe explained looking at Aubrey through the mirror.

"Chlo, I've been texting Jesse. He says that Beca's fine, she's just finishing up getting ready. Which is what you should be doing if you weren't too busy freaking out." Aubrey said.

"I just want to make sure. I haven't talked to her in two days and its kinda killing me." Chloe whined.

"You'll get to see her when you walk down the aisle and she's waiting for you at the other end dear." Barbara said as comfortingly as possible. Though as she remembered from her own wedding the anticipation to seeing her husband was indescribable, nothing her own mother said would calm her until she actually saw Victor waiting for her.

"Just a few more hours' right?" Chloe said more to herself than to anyone else.

Those hours were a blur, and before they knew it everyone was lining up like they had rehearsed the night before. Beca stood next to Jesse staring at the minister they had gotten to marry them. He had known Chloe most of her life and been a friend of the Beale family for many years before that so he seemed like a natural choice. It couldn't have been a more perfect day; they had arranged it to be an outdoor wedding with the vineyard and the view behind them. The sky above them was cloudless and a brilliant blue.

The music started and Beca turned, anxious to see Chloe walking towards her, surprising herself with how much she was now looking forward to calling Chloe her wife. The flower girls came first, they were eight and ten year old sisters, Beca couldn't remember exactly how Chloe knew them but they were adorable and well behaved so it didn't really matter. And then the bride's maids, of course Chloe had picked the Bella's. Not all of them because that would be too many, but the others sat in places of honor in the front row with Chloe's family. Fat Amy came first escorted by Connor, then Lily escorted by Donald (they didn't mention the Bella's oath to Lily for fear of what she might do to them), and then Aubrey who walked alone. Cynthia Rose stood next to Jesse as one of Beca's "grooms women".

And finally, that moment that Beca hadn't realized she had been dreaming about until she saw it. Chloe and Victor appeared at the end of the aisle and for a moment Beca couldn't breathe, she couldn't think, she could just stand there and stare in awe of the beauty of the woman walking towards her. Beca's eyes met Chloe's unwavering gaze and the world disappeared, all of the past drama, their fights, and their break ups, all of the pain that they had endured to get to this point didn't matter anymore. Chloe was giving Beca that smile that always made Beca's knees weak, the one that made Beca feel as if she were the only person in the world to Chloe.

It took all Beca's will power not to kiss Chloe as soon as she was within arm's reach. Instead she did as they had rehearsed and she held her hand out and waited for Victor to place Chloe's hand in her won. A symbolic giving away of the daughter, or at least that's what Barbara had explained. And then they turned to the minister, but really, try as she might Beca wasn't playing all that close attention to what was being said. Her attention was solely 100% on Chloe. She was surprised that she managed to say "I do" at the appropriate time.

Then they were kissing. Kissing their first kiss as a married couple and no other kiss that they had shared before was as special. Beca tried to pour into it every bit of love that she felt for Chloe.

They made it back down the aisle and all the way back into one of the private rooms in fact before Chloe had Beca pushed up against one of the walls and was kissing her with a lot more passion then had been allowed before.

"You look beautiful." Beca said when they parted. They only had a few minutes before they had to rejoin the others and go and sign the marriage license and then go to the reception.

"So do you." Chloe sniffled. It was pointless to say that she had promised not to cry given how emotional she was anyway the happiness she felt just bubbled over.

"Should we rejoin the others before they come looking for us? With my luck it'll be your father and I really don't want to die on my wedding day." Beca said imagining Victor walking into the room and finding the two of them in a compromising position.

"We're married; there isn't much he can say about it. Even though he really couldn't say anything about it before either."

"Still I don't think I want to chance it. Come on, there will be plenty of time for this later."

The reception was a grand affair, hundreds of people hanging out and having a good time just like Beca and Chloe wanted. Though Beca was slightly nervous about the speeches, she had no intention of speaking but that wasn't going to stop any of the Bella's. No one was surprised when Aubrey was the first to stand up.

"When Chloe told me that she and Beca had started dating, I wasn't surprised. It was clear that there was chemistry between the two of them that most people only ever read in romance novels. I wasn't convinced that Beca deserved Chloe, but Chloe is like a sister to me so really no one was good enough for her. It was a couple of months after they had started dating that I intended on giving Beca the best friend speech. And I promise you all, it's a pretty terrifying experience." Aubrey paused glancing over at Beca who shrugged looking relatively nonchalant about it. "You know its true Mitchell. I had my speech all planned out, the typical hurt my friend and I'll hurt you type of thing. But then as we were talking Beca said something that took the wind out of my sails a little bit. We were leaving the coffee shop and she stopped me and she told me that she knew that Chloe deserved a lot better than she could offer. But that she was going to spend every day trying to be that person Chloe deserved. And she's made good on that promise, I've never seen anyone make Chloe as happy as you do Beca. And I wish many, many years of happiness for you both. To Beca and Chloe."

Chloe stood and hugged Aubrey tightly and the two of them shared their moment together before sitting back down. Chloe's hand finding Beca's automatically as Beca thanked Aubrey with a nod.

Both of them danced with their fathers during the father daughter dance to _I loved her first_ by Heartland. And for their first dance together it was to a mix that Beca had made specifically for Chloe, a compilation of _Titanium_ and _Just the way you are_. It seemed appropriate for the first dance they shared as a married couple to be the two songs that seemed to be a running anthem to their lives. They'd made it, they were married now with their entire lives ahead of them and neither of them could be happier.

**Epilogue**

**Nine months in the future**

_The day we met,_

_Frozen I held my breath_

_Right from the start_

_I knew that I'd found the home for my heart…_

… _beats fast_

_Colors and promises_

_How to be brave?_

_How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?_

_But watching you stand alone_

_All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow._

Chloe woke up slowly, stretching leisurely feeling the warmth of the sunlight coming into the window. Somewhere deep down Chloe knew she should be slightly unnerved that she was actually waking up naturally instead of to the shrill crying of her son demanding attention from one or both of his mothers. But Chloe heard the sound of Beca humming through the baby monitor and guessed that Beca had gotten up to feed David before he started crying so that Chloe could get some sleep.

They were hosting a get together of their family and a few friends that afternoon; everyone had been bugging them that they hadn't been showing David off enough. So they relented, David was old enough that he was actually interacting with everyone, crawling all over the place and trying to stand on his own though he hadn't quite gotten a hang of that trick yet. Chloe walked out of the bedroom and towards Beca's studio turned nursery. It was still a subject of laughter between the two of them that Bad Ass DJ Beca Mitchell's in home studio had turned into a sort of nursery with baby toys everywhere and a place for him to nap when Beca was watching him.

She hesitated when she heard Beca talking in a soft voice that still made Chloe's heart swell with love. It was the voice that Beca only used with David, it wasn't much different, just softer and more soothing than her usual voice.

"Hey buddy, I wanna talk to you about something real quick. You know I love you, more than anything else in the world. Well, except for maybe your mom. I'd say the two of you are pretty tied for that. But anyway, I've done a lot of stupid stuff in the past. Run away when things got rough, hurt your mom without meaning to, I know no one means to be but I've been a real ass hole a lot of the time. And I just wanna promise you that no matter what happens, no matter how hard things get I'm never, ever going to run out on you okay? You're stuck with me buddy forever and ever. Even if your mom decides one day that she can do a whole lot better than me you're gonna see me all the time. Because you David Beale-Mitchell are more important to me than all the Grammy's in the world, all the artists that wanna work with me, more than any of that." Beca finished her speech and saw David's wide blue eyes looking up at her having absolutely no idea what she had just said but he looked like he was listening intently to what she was saying while sucking on his pacifier.

"Hey." Beca jumped when she heard Chloe's voice coming from the doorway. She hadn't expected her heart to heart to be heard by her wife.

"How much of that did you hear?" Beca asked sheepishly.

"All of it."

"Oh." Shifting David in her arms so that he was resting comfortably with his head on her shoulder, about to doze off except for Chloe had just come in and he was starting to get fussy wanting to go to her. Chloe accepted the wiggling infant kissing him on the forehead before turning her attention back to Chloe.

"Don't be embarrassed. What you said was very sweet. Why did you feel like you need to make a promise like that? Do you plan on going somewhere?" Chloe asked trying not to sound insecure. They had what she thought was a pretty good marriage, not to say they didn't fight. They fought intensely; both of them so stubborn fights could last for days. But they loved with just as much passion. But hearing Beca talk to their son about the possibility of them not being together one day was mildly disconcerting.

"No! Of course not, I didn't mean it like that. I only meant that if it should happen for some reason I'm not going to be like my dad and run off and never speak to him until I come back into his life and make some unreasonable demand that he attend college." Beca explained quickly.

"I thought things were better between you and your dad."

"They are. Hell, he's coming over tonight. But isn't the idea of parenthood to not repeat the mistakes our parents made? Promising him is just putting myself at ease."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

As people started to arrive Beca kept David entertained while Chloe greeted everyone and played perfect hostess. Beca was much more content with David anyway. She'd taken to motherhood a lost easier than she thought she would, there were a few freak outs along the way. Beca nearly had a panic attack the first time David had the sniffles. But that was all a learning experience and now she was a pro. And it was pretty easy to tell that David adored Beca, no more so than Chloe really but there was a difference that neither of them could really put a finger on. There was a way that Beca could always calm him down, even when he was at his most inconsolable and Chloe had been trying for hours to get him to stop crying. Beca would pick him up and within a few minutes he'd stop crying and be back to his usual self. The same way that Chloe was able to rock him to sleep when he was fighting his exhaustion and getting fussy.

"It's kind weird seeing you play mommy." Jesse commented sitting inside the play pen with Beca and David. The nine month old eyed the intruder to his place space warily before crawling back to Beca and holding his arms out for her to pick him up.

"Awe buddy it's just your Uncle Jesse. I know he's scary huh?" Beca teased seeing Jesse pretend to be wounded by her words.

"Parenthood looks good on you Bec."

"Thanks Jesse."

"WHERE IS MY GRANDSON!?" Barbara's voice echoed in their house as she stormed into the living room like a mad woman. Beca stood with David in her arms knowing better than to deny Barbara a chance to see her grandson. Taking the chance to go and visit with Chloe and Aubrey, Beca handed David to Barbara and ventured into the kitchen.

"I think your mom bought one of everything inside the toy store again." Beca commented leaning against the counter. Chloe laughed, though she didn't doubt it. It had been a hard task trying to keep Barbara from going overboard with the spoiling.

"I'm going to go rescue our son from my mother." Chloe commented. Beca watched Chloe take David into her arms and saw the way that her entire face lit up holding him.

"So this is what it feels like." Beca commented not realizing that she'd said the words out loud until Aubrey turned to her.

"What feels like?"

"Happiness. Complete and utter happiness." Beca replied watching as Chloe spun David around and heard him laugh a full on belly laugh. Paired with Chloe's laughter Beca knew that was the best sound in the world.

_Time stands still_

_Beauty and all she is_

_I will be brave_

_I will not let anything take away_

_What's standing in front of me_

_Every breath_

_Every hour has come to this._

_I have died every day waiting for you_

_Darling don't be afraid I have loved you_

_For a thousand years._

_I'll love you for a thousand more._

**Song at the end is A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. It was the original inspiration for the title to this story so I thought it was appropriate to put it here. Anyway, thanks again for reading!**


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